From cricket's ice land: Inside Canada's battle to keep the sport alive

When the crowds began to gather at 11am on a working day in Chennai for the T20 World Cup fixture between New Zealand and Canada, it would have been fair to wonder what had drawn them there. The stands were far from full, but there was still a respectable turnout for a contest that, on paper, appeared uneven. This tournament has generally seen strong crowds, but considering the gap between the two sides, it was difficult to predict what the game might offer beyond the expected result.

The spectators, however, were given moments to hold on to. Yuvraj Samra’s 110 from 65 deliveries, the highest individual score of the edition at this point, briefly shifted attention away from the likely outcome. New Zealand were reduced to 30 for 2 in their chase of 174, losing two wickets in four balls, and for a short period, there was a sense, however faint, that the contest might stretch further than anticipated.

Although the eventual result followed familiar lines, Canada’s performance still carried value. They had not left a significant mark in the competition until then, even as several other Associate sides impressed, and they remain one of four teams yet to register a win in this edition. That position sits in contrast to the manner of their qualification. Canada had progressed through the Americas Regional Final unbeaten, becoming the 13th team to secure a place at the tournament.

Their challenge, though, began long before the World Cup started. The qualifiers in June 2025 was their last T20I match before arriving for this event. The gap was not the result of poor planning, but largely a consequence of the climate. Long winters meant opportunities to train outdoors or play competitive cricket were limited in the months leading up to the tournament, leaving preparation compressed into a short period overseas.

All-rounder Nicholas Kirton spoke about the difficulties: “Unfortunately, we hadn’t played any T20 cricket since June last year. We had about three weeks of preparation in Sri Lanka and managed four or five practice matches. The main focus was on bringing the group together after winter and getting ready before the tournament. The six months of winter definitely don’t help. We don’t have year-round facilities, although things are improving with more grounds being developed for the summer. Ideally, we need more overseas tours during winter to keep the team together and then maximise the summer months.”

Teammate Dilon Heyliger was equally direct about the disadvantage: “We live in Canada, where temperatures can drop to minus 50 degrees, so most of our training is indoors. This is a big stage, so it’s not an excuse, but it is definitely a disadvantage compared to teams that can train outdoors year-round.”

This year, parts of northern Canada experienced extreme cold spells, with the Thomsen River region recording three consecutive days with highs below minus 50 degrees Celsius, conditions that underline how restrictive the climate can be even for daily life, let alone organised non-winter sport.

Playing cricket in Canada - a geographical challenge

Playing cricket in such an environment inevitably brings complications. Understanding how the sport functions across the year in Canada requires looking beyond international tournaments and into the domestic structure. To explore that, I spoke with Jimmy Sharma, who has worked with Cricket Canada since 2021 and is the founder of the Patiala Shahi Cricket Club, where Samra was also taught the basics of the game.

110 runs, 65 balls, 11 fours & 6 sixes 💯

Canada’s Yuvraj Smara has become the youngest centurion in the men’s T20 World Cup 🇨🇦#NZvCAN #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/cOPFubjbbj

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 17, 2026

 

Sharma began by outlining the realities of the Canadian season: “Our cricket season in Canada basically starts in the first week of May and goes until the first or second week of October, when outdoor activities shut down due to the regulations. In places like Toronto and Vancouver, which are the two major cricket hubs, the weather is a big factor. Vancouver gets a lot of rain in winter, and the Toronto area gets heavy snow. Because of that, a lot of cricket is played on astro or matting wickets, although for elite divisions and national selection tournaments, players still need to perform on turf to be picked for the Canada team.”

The difference between those surfaces and the natural turf wickets used in global tournaments is significant. Astro wickets are typically laid over concrete and offer more predictable bounce with limited seam or deterioration, whereas turf pitches change over time, demanding adjustments in technique and skill. Astro surfaces also restrict bowlers in particular. Fast bowlers receive less assistance from the pitch, and spinners struggle to develop variations because the surface offers limited wear.

When winter arrives, the focus shifts indoors, but those facilities bring their own limitations. “The biggest challenge across the country is that while participation numbers are very high, the quality of facilities, especially turf wickets, is limited. Cities like Brampton are putting in a lot of effort to build grounds, but the demand is much higher than the supply. Each city might have two or three indoor facilities, but even then, there’s so much snow that the ball will hardly bounce. The best grounds are allotted for club cricket or youth cricket."

For the national side, the only realistic solution is to leave the country. “For the national squad, the board tries to keep players outside Canada during preparation periods,” Sharma explained. “For example, before this tournament, we did not come directly from Canada. We left on January 6 and trained in Sri Lanka. Whenever there is a major series or qualifier, there is usually a pre-tour camp abroad to ensure players get proper outdoor cricket.”

Canada’s cricketing history is longer than many assume. The country played the first-ever international cricket match in 1844 against the United States, beating them by 23 runs, and then appeared at the 1979 World Cup. Yet, sustained progress has been difficult. Sharma believes climate remains a central reason. “It is not feasible for us to control the sport. Even a country like the USA can progress in cricket because it has Florida and Texas, where it doesn’t snow, but in Canada, from the east coast to the west, it snows in every province. So, to train, we either have to go to the USA, the Caribbean Islands, Barbados, St Kitts or even Dubai, because you just can’t play at all.”

Despite those constraints, interest in cricket continues to grow, particularly within immigrant communities. “Among the South Asian diaspora, especially, most young players stick to cricket,” Sharma says. “I would say 99.9 per cent continue playing cricket rather than switching to other sports competitively. Some may play basketball recreationally, but competitive focus remains on cricket because families are committed to it. This, in a way, makes it more challenging because the number of grounds remains limited, but the interest in cricket is at an all-time high.”

To retain players, the board has moved toward a more professional structure. Sharma credits former coach Pubudu Dassanayake for pushing that transition. “Around 95 per cent of the players are full-time cricketers. Coach Pubudu - he's the head coach of USA Cricket now - introduced this setup: if you have to play cricket, you just play cricket; you cannot work on the side. And I think he's doing a similar thing with USA Cricket as well. He first worked with Nepal cricket; look where they are now. Even USA cricket is making a lot of progress.”

The introduction of the central contracts has helped the players get more opportunities than ever before. "The club culture in Canada is very strong. The quantity is there," says Sharma. "The Brampton Etobicoke District Cricket League is one of the biggest in North America, with 230-plus teams. Players can easily get 16 matches for one team, and if they play another league, they could get another 16. There are matches during the week under lights and on weekends. A cricketer who is not even in the Canadian setup but is a professional can make a decent living out of cricket.”

Infrastructure, however, remains the biggest hurdle. Canada does not have permanent international stadiums, relying instead on temporary venues. Portable stadiums have been used primarily for franchise tournaments like the Global T20 Canada, built shortly before competitions and dismantled afterwards. That model increases costs and limits revenue compared to countries with established facilities.

Sharma points to the contrast: Neutral matches in countries with permanent stadiums can still generate income through ticket sales and commercial activity. Canada does not have that advantage. “We have to pay for the portable stadiums ourselves, as it does not generate the same revenue. In India, two teams that have nothing to do with the host country can play, and the stadium still makes money. That stadium is not there for us.”

The biggest issue still remains the lack of international exposure, which is where, Sharma feels, the ICC could help Associate teams: “The ICC needs to ensure they do more funding in North American cricket. Whatever cricket we play, we have sponsors, but because of the limited funding, we are restricted. If we are planning a one-week trip, it can be a two or three-week trip. For World Cup preparations, the ICC does the funding, but if it's a bilateral or even the Qualifiers, the ICC will not fund us. They want us to go from one tournament to another, so that's where the ICC can really help us out. It will also help us play more international matches."

In many ways, those limitations bring the conversation back to where it began: preparation. Teams that train year-round enter tournaments with rhythm already built into their systems. Canada often arrive having first had to escape winter, rebuild match fitness abroad, and then adjust quickly to conditions that others are more familiar with.

Which is why moments like Samra’s innings in Chennai carry immense significance. It was not just a century in a group-stage game with a predictable result. It was evidence of a team with potential surviving in constraint, of a system trying to grow despite geography working against it.

This morning in Chennai, the crowd may not have expected much beyond the inevitable. But they witnessed a glimpse of what could be when opportunity finally arises. Canada cricket continues to live in that hope. 

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