By RON FANFAIR
Seeking out the most qualified technical director to scout local talent and help Canada assemble its best team for the 2007 World Cup is going to be a top priority of the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA), promises national High Performance Manager Ron Aldridge.
As a reward for its World Cup qualification, the cash-strapped CCA will receive US$500,000 over the next four years to be targeted at coaching, infrastructure and development. The funds represent the largest ever International Cricket Council (ICC) High Performance grant to its Associate members.
The CCA will also get an additional US$600,000 to hire a full-time technical director and/or national coach.
"With the assistance of the ICC, we will begin the process of trying to secure the best possible technical director to help us prepare for the World Cup," said Aldridge. "We just don't want to show up at the event. We want to go there fully prepared, compete at a high level and show the world that we deserve to be in the tournament.
"With the injection of funds, we will ensure that it's used wisely for the benefit of Canadian cricket. These benefits don't come too often, so the onus is on us to maximize it to the fullest and guarantee that Canadian cricket is the big winner."
Aldridge said the technical director will travel across Canada in an attempt to unearth the best players.
"It's more than likely that several of the players who helped us get to the World Cup will be up there in age by the time the event rolls around," said Aldridge. "As a result, it's imperative that we start to focus more on the younger players and help them develop to the point where they could be considered for selection for the World Cup.
"The new funding will also help us send young players to academies in South Africa and Australia to hone their skills, so the future looks very bright for our youths who are seriously interested in representing their country at the highest level."
In addition to funding, Canada and the other four Associate members which have qualified for the World Cup have been extended One-day status for the next four years.
"These nations will have the prestige and security of One Day International (ODI) status for these matches all the way through to the next ICC Trophy in four years time and they will gain valuable experience under the same playing conditions as the World Cup," said ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed.
"These initiatives provide an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the development of cricket in these countries."
For the first time ever, two Americas representatives will participate in the World Cup following Bermuda's qualification in its eighth attempt.
Under the guidance of former West Indies coach Gus Logie who coached Canada in the last World Cup, Bermuda recovered from its opening group loss to Ireland to win its remaining four group matches and finish second in its group behind the Irish.
"It's good to see that Bermuda has finally reached the World Cup and is joining Canada on the game's biggest stage," said former Canadian fast bowler Davis Joseph who participated in the last World Cup in southern Africa. "I think Gus had a lot do with helping them qualify by bringing some stability to the team in a very short period of time.
"Gus is a good coach and a very good person and I am very glad for him and what he has done in helping Bermuda get to the World Cup."
The draw for the World Cup will be made on July 19.
Canada will play its preliminary round in St. Lucia with New Zealand, Kenya and England while Bermuda will compete against Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in Trinidad & Tobago.