… Keemo Paul to make debut for Montreal Tigers

By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – All-rounder Sherfane Rutherford, who fashioned a masterclass unbeaten 134 to lead Cricket West Indies (CWI) B to an unlikely victory over pre-tournament favourites Vancouver Knights in the first qualifier of the inaugural Global T20 Canada, will be donning colours for Edmonton Royals when the 2019 version gets underway here on July 25.

The draft for the second season was held yesterday in Mumbai, India and according to the organisers, defending champions Vancouver Knights will take on home team, Toronto Nationals, in what promises to be a thrilling opening encounter.

Rutherford is joined by his fellow Guyanese and Delhi Capitals teammate Keemo Paul who will be making his debut for Montreal Tigers.

Rutherford’s boundary-studded innings, which earned him the man-of-the-match award and heaps of praise from those who witnessed the superb knock, which included 10 sixes and 11 fours, almost singlehandedly swung the game CWI B’s way after early inroads from Vancouver Knights bowlers.

Other Guyanese-based players drafted include Dilon Heyliger who has been retained by Montreal Tigers, Mark Montfort and Jeremy Gordon who will be turning out for Toronto Nationals and 17-year-old Mathew Nandu (Vancouver Knights), son of former Guyana Under-19 leg-spinner Arjune Nandu, reportedly the youngest player in the draft.
With last year’s runners-up West Indies B opting out of this year’s tournament, their place has been taken by Brampton Wolves, whose mayor Patrick Brown recently boasted that the city has the biggest cricket fans in Canada.

The tournament has been shifted from the Maple Leaf Cricket Club (MLCC) ground in Mississauga to a new venue in Brampton but the exact location is still to be determined.
The inaugural draft had three rounds where each team’s retained marquee players were announced. Toronto Nationals, retained Brendon McCullum, India’s hard-hitting left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, and the aggressive West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard.

Vancouver Knights retained the universally famous West Indies players, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, along with former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.

Montreal Tigers have former Australian captain George Bailey, West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera as its marquee players.

Edmonton Royals continue with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, current South African captain Faf du Plessis, and all-rounder Ben Cutting.

Winnipeg Hawks retain Australian cricketer Chris Lynn, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and off-spinner J.P. Duminy while Brampton Wolves have former WI captain Darren Sammy, Bangladesh’s all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and New Zealand’s Colin Munro.

In addition to the players, the host also announced the coaches of the respective teams, integral to the players and the team. Toronto Nationals have Geoff Lawson, Donovan Miller for Vancouver Knights, Tom Moody for Montreal Tigers, Stephen Fleming for Edmonton Royals, Lalchand Rajput for Winnipeg Hawks, and Phil Simmons for Brampton Wolves.

According to chairman and promoter of Global T20 Canada Gurmeet Singh, “The inaugural GT20 season received great appreciation from players and fans alike and we hope to make it an even better tournament this time around. We are bringing in even more exciting talent and it promises to be an awesome second season.”

Defending champions Vancouver Knights, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Edmonton Royals and Winnipeg Hawks are the other teams vying for the US$500 000 first prize.
The tournament will comprise a total of 22 matches, including the three playoffs games. The final is scheduled for Sunday, August 11.