By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada — Guyanese Dilon Heyliger and Mark Montfort have been included in the Canada senior men’s squad, set to tour Barbados from December 8 to 17 as part of preparations for the upcoming World Cricket League Division Two tournament.

The team will depart here next Saturday and after two days of practice will play four matches against a University of West Indies Select XI on December 11, 12, 14 and 15.
Heyliger, a former Guyana T20 player who also represented his homeland at both the Under-15 and 19 levels, turned out for Brampton Masters in last season’s Toronto District Cricket Association (TDCA) Super 9 tournament, while all-rounder Montfort, the son of former long-standing umpire Peter Montfort, plays for the same club.

The former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) first division all-rounder, who was also selected in the Guyana T20 squad in 2011 despite not being part of the playing 11, said the experience was quite electrifying and satisfying. “I decided to build on the success of Guyana’s cricket and move on to gain some international experience.”
Before migrating to Canada, Montfort also played first division cricket for the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) under the guidance of former Guyana and West Indies off-spinner and later chairman of selectors, Clyde Butts.

The touring party is: Nitish Kumar (captain), Bhavindu Adhihetty, Navneet Dhaliwal, Arslan Khan, Rizwan Cheema, Varun Sehdev, Mark Montfort, Nikhil Dutta, Dilon Heyliger, Ammar Khalid, Cecil Pervez, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Junaid Siddiqui, Saad Zafar, Umair Ghani, Hamza Tariq, Head coach Ingleton Liburd, Assistant coach Henry Osinde, Asst coach/analyst Daulat Khan

Meanwhile, according to a release from Cricket Canada, the body has pledged to commit to the Coaching Association of Canada’s Responsible Coaching Movement. The release pointed out that Cricket Canada pledges “to align our practices with Phase 1 of the Responsible Coaching Movement and we are committed to ensuring that our athletes and coaches are protected.”

The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) is a multi-phase system-wide movement, coordinated by the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport that has the potential to affect all sport organisations and coaches. The RCM is a call to action for organisations to implement realistic change based on their individual state of readiness.

The release further disclosed that “the RCM is the result of extensive ongoing consultation with the Canadian Sport Community. These consultations will guide the different phases of the RCM that will address the role coaches play with issues relating to the health and safety of athletes, both on and off the field of play.

“Cricket Canada is planning to adopt a safe sport policy, following the principles of the Responsible Coaching Movement and encourages all members to do the same.”