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Cricket greats set to hit city for landmark competition
Indian, Pakistani players to face each other at Rogers Centre
Katie Rook
National Post
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Indian and Pakistani cricket greats are Toronto-bound for their first match in Canada -- a safe zone for two cricket loving nations that are anything but friendly off the pitch.
A Greater Toronto Area firm organizing the March 3 match expects about 30,000 fans will pack the Rogers Centre to celebrate a game popular throughout most Commonwealth countries, but just becoming mainstream in Canada.
The formality and respect of cricket, sometimes referred to as ''the gentleman's sport,'' creates a forum in which people can settle their differences, says co-organizer Dave D'Silva of M+D Community Corp., an event planning firm.
While it would be unrealistic to believe the game will solve long-standing tensions between India and Pakistan, sports certainly help, he said.
Said another M+D spokesman, Donald Francis: "You'd rather settle your difference on a playing field as opposed to a battlefield. That's a gentleman's way of doing things."
Though the Indian and Pakistan teams have competed before, this match, which falls about 10 days before the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean -- an event for which Canada's team has qualified for the third time-- represents the first time legendary players have played one another at a charity event in Canada.
The day-long charity match -- in which Pakistan's Wasim Akram will square off against India's renowned Ajay Singh Jadeja -- will be the largest cricket match in North America and is the first time such noteworthy players have played together in Canada.
"It's the Wayne Gretzkys and the Mario Lemieuxs of cricket that are coming to play at this event," Mr. Francis said. "These guys are looked at as idols. The young ones come to them for coaching and support and just to learn how these guys did the magic back then."
M+D believes the event will find support among Canada's South Asian community and immigrants seeking a taste of the familiar. Thanks to a declining birth rate among non-immigrants, newcomers to Canada account for an estimated 70% of the country's annual population growth. Some predictions suggest newcomers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are set to become the biggest ethnic minority in Canada during the next 10 years.
Imtiaz Seyid, from event sponsor RBC Royal Bank, has not played on a cricket team since he was 14-years-old and had his front teeth knocked out by a bowler. But he welcomes the opportunity to see record-holders at play, he said.
As a vice-president of South Asian and Middle Eastern markets for RBC, Mr. Seyid says the bank has made inroads into the community about 13 years ago with a sponsorship relationship with the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He expects hosting the match will enhance RBC's profile as a financial services provider among cricket fans.
"In spite of all the political issues, cricket unifies people," he said yesterday at a Legends of Cricket Live 2007 launch event. "It's a medium to come together. Cricket is in the blood ... any ball will do."
The South Asian community in Canada is the next frontier for the expansion of cricket, he said.
Organizers hope fundraising for the Heart and Stroke Foundation will surpass that of Charity World Record game of 1989 in Toronto. The event will also feature musicians Fakhr-e-Alam, Khalid Ghayur, Naomi Zaman, Abiam Shad, Sumanna Ganguly as well as Bangra dance group Punjabi Virsa. M+D will also host a contest on www.loclive.com in which Richmond Hill residents will be challenged to educate their mayor about cricket for ticket prizes. More information about the match is also available at www.cricketfrenzy.com.
Cricket greats set to hit city for landmark competition
Indian, Pakistani players to face each other at Rogers Centre
Katie Rook
National Post
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Indian and Pakistani cricket greats are Toronto-bound for their first match in Canada -- a safe zone for two cricket loving nations that are anything but friendly off the pitch.
A Greater Toronto Area firm organizing the March 3 match expects about 30,000 fans will pack the Rogers Centre to celebrate a game popular throughout most Commonwealth countries, but just becoming mainstream in Canada.
The formality and respect of cricket, sometimes referred to as ''the gentleman's sport,'' creates a forum in which people can settle their differences, says co-organizer Dave D'Silva of M+D Community Corp., an event planning firm.
While it would be unrealistic to believe the game will solve long-standing tensions between India and Pakistan, sports certainly help, he said.
Said another M+D spokesman, Donald Francis: "You'd rather settle your difference on a playing field as opposed to a battlefield. That's a gentleman's way of doing things."
Though the Indian and Pakistan teams have competed before, this match, which falls about 10 days before the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean -- an event for which Canada's team has qualified for the third time-- represents the first time legendary players have played one another at a charity event in Canada.
The day-long charity match -- in which Pakistan's Wasim Akram will square off against India's renowned Ajay Singh Jadeja -- will be the largest cricket match in North America and is the first time such noteworthy players have played together in Canada.
"It's the Wayne Gretzkys and the Mario Lemieuxs of cricket that are coming to play at this event," Mr. Francis said. "These guys are looked at as idols. The young ones come to them for coaching and support and just to learn how these guys did the magic back then."
M+D believes the event will find support among Canada's South Asian community and immigrants seeking a taste of the familiar. Thanks to a declining birth rate among non-immigrants, newcomers to Canada account for an estimated 70% of the country's annual population growth. Some predictions suggest newcomers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are set to become the biggest ethnic minority in Canada during the next 10 years.
Imtiaz Seyid, from event sponsor RBC Royal Bank, has not played on a cricket team since he was 14-years-old and had his front teeth knocked out by a bowler. But he welcomes the opportunity to see record-holders at play, he said.
As a vice-president of South Asian and Middle Eastern markets for RBC, Mr. Seyid says the bank has made inroads into the community about 13 years ago with a sponsorship relationship with the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He expects hosting the match will enhance RBC's profile as a financial services provider among cricket fans.
"In spite of all the political issues, cricket unifies people," he said yesterday at a Legends of Cricket Live 2007 launch event. "It's a medium to come together. Cricket is in the blood ... any ball will do."
The South Asian community in Canada is the next frontier for the expansion of cricket, he said.
Organizers hope fundraising for the Heart and Stroke Foundation will surpass that of Charity World Record game of 1989 in Toronto. The event will also feature musicians Fakhr-e-Alam, Khalid Ghayur, Naomi Zaman, Abiam Shad, Sumanna Ganguly as well as Bangra dance group Punjabi Virsa. M+D will also host a contest on www.loclive.com in which Richmond Hill residents will be challenged to educate their mayor about cricket for ticket prizes. More information about the match is also available at www.cricketfrenzy.com.
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