The first three days of action from GT20 (Global T20) Canada has provided some exciting cricket and close finishes, much to the enthusiasm of cricket lovers and audiences worldwide at CAA Center in Brampton. And Associates this year are getting a much more meatier piece of the action in both playing XI and they are not disappointing by any means.
The first three days saw some good performances by Associate member players, until Scotland’s George Munsey unleashed himself for Brampton Wolves, and played an innings that can catch the eye of all major scouts for other big-wig T20 leagues across the globe.
The tournament opener saw Canada’s Rodrigo Thomas play a quickfire knock for Toronto Nationals, and Netherland’s Michael Rippon and Canada’s Saad bin Zafar also bowled economical spells for Vancouver Knights. UAE’s Mohammad Naveed impressed for Montreal Tigers in their total defense against Winnipeg Hawks in the 2nd game in the tournament.
Canada’s Ravinderpal Singh and Salman Nazar did their part during the thriller game between Edmonton Royals and Toronto Nationals. UAE’s Rohan Mustafa and Zahoor Khan complemented Ish Sodhi’s demolition of Montreal Tigers for Brampton Wolves, before George Munsey smashed a 24-ball knock of 63 runs to chase down the below-average total of 101 inside 7 overs!!
The franchise team’s have been picking as many as 4 canadian players in the playing XI, along with 2 other Associate member players, and thus the players are getting more opportunities with both bat and ball in the matches so far. The trend is only going to continue.
Although, the likes of JJ Smit (Namibia), Kyle Coetzer (Scotland), Calum MacLeod (Scotland), Tobias Visse (Netherlands), Matthew Cross (Scotland), Nikhil Dutta (Canada) and others have not made a big match-winning impression yet (less time in the games to make a definite contribution), but with a long schedule still remaining, lot will be expected out of them and the others in the competition.
For action pictures from GT20 Canada, click here. For GT20 Canada schedule, click here.
Associate member players notable performances so far in GT20 Canada
Rodrigo Thomas (Toronto Nationals) – 41 off 31 deliveries vs Vancouver Knights
Saad bin Zafar (Vancouver Knights) – 2/7 in 2 overs vs Toronto Nationals
Michael Rippon (Vancouver Knights) – 1/27 in 4 overs vs Toronto Nationals
Mohammad Naveed (Montreal Tigers) – 2/26 in 3 overs vs Winnipeg Hawks
Salman Nazar (Toronto Nationals) – 1/24 in 4 overs vs Edmonton Royals
Rohan Mustafa (Brampton Wolves) – 2/9 in 2 overs vs Montreal Tigers
Zahoor Khan (Brampton Wolves) – 1/12 in 2.2 overs vs Montreal Tigers
George Munsey (Brampton Wolves) – 63 n.o off 24 deliveries vs Montreal Tigers
Did you know that 20 countries have ODI status and 104 countries have T20I status? Or the fact that Scotland beat CWC19 winner England in ODI cricket in 2018? Or, Netherlands will play in CWC Super League with Full Members? Or, Japan and Nigeria will play in 2020 ICC U19 CWC in South Africa? Most people are missing out on the world of Associate Cricket. Are you one of them? Follow us at www.facebook.com/czarsportzauto or www.twitter.com/Emerging_93 to get all updates and news about the Global Associate Cricket World and how it works outside the Test playing circuit.
