Cricket Canada is caught in a sticky wicket.
Driving the news: A B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered that Cricket Canada — the country's national governing body for the sport — hold a meeting with an independent arbitrator to resolve issues with four provincial-level cricket bodies that had taken it to court.
The petition was launched by B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario cricket orgs, alleging that Cricket Canada had violated its own constitution and bylaws. While the judge found this to be true, he also cited violations committed by all involved parties.
“Squabbles before the court appear to be driven at least in part by… egos and ambitions,” the judge said, noting that would be okay if the parties involved weren't ”charitable organizations, operating on donations, player fees, and taxpayer dollars.”
Zoom out: Internecine bickering is just the tip of the iceberg. Cricket Canada is dealing with a raft of controversies including a match-fixing investigation, a wrongful dismissal suit from ex-national team coach Pubudu Dassanayake, and the hiring of Salman Khan as CEO even though he was accused of fraud and theft while at the Calgary and District Cricket League.
Why it matters: Cricket has been tabbed as one of the fastest-growing sports in Canada, and the national team has made impressive strides on the world stage. The opportunity to build on this momentum will be squandered if those in charge can’t get their house in order.
Bottom line: It’s not just cricket that’s facing a reckoning. A commission studying the future of sport in Canada released its findings yesterday and called for a total overhaul of how athletics are structured in the country.—QH
