Begone sticky wicket to whence ye came!

When you see something that goes awry, or seems to be a little unjust, do you spill your tea, splutter in shock and exclaim, “That’s just not cricket!”

No, we don’t either. Because the juxtaposition of a game where you throw a hard ball against three sticks and the act of something not going as planned doesn’t really make sense.

But you know what does make sense? A connection with Toronto, London and the great game of cricket. So we were BOWLED over and CREASED up in joy to get this press release from The British Canadian Chamber of Trade and Commerce, which we highlight below …

Did you know that there have been seven annual Toronto school cricket tours to London since 2008?

Over 100 GTA schools compete to win the CIMA Mayors’ School Cricket Tournament and this year they need your help.

The UK tour is part of a larger initiative entitled “Cricket Across the Pond” (CAP). This programme provides a unique opportunity to engage young people with sport in the GTA, promoting inter-cultural relationships, team spirit and Fair Play through cricket. Since its inception in 2008, the CAP programme has developed young leaders who possess positive self-esteem, role-modeling characteristics and a strong sense of civic responsibility (as well as a few Canadian National team players).

Once selected, the Team is announced by the Mayor of Toronto in front of TV and other media at City Hall. The team is welcomed in London by Mayor Boris Johnson, the London City Council and area Municipalities. As ambassadors for Toronto and Canada the players engage with cricketers and cricket organisations in England and in addition are given VIP access to Lords, London Oval.

The inaugural Toronto Mayor’s Youth XI versus London Mayor’s Youth XI was held in London in 2012 and the Toronto – London program was recognized by the International Cricket Council Development Award in 2013.

We want you to be part of this international award winning program to strengthen bonds between Toronto and London via the exciting game of cricket.

CIMA Canada is currently inviting a limited number of corporate partners to support the CAP tour to UK as well as CIMA’s growing GTA-wide school cricket tournament that attracted over 100 GTA schools last year. Sponsors can choose the level of support that matches their needs including trophy naming rights, speaking opportunities at media events, advertising on clothing and at games.

Please contact Martin Buckle via e-mail at martin DOT buckle AT cimacanada.org and visit our websites for more information:

http://www.cimacanada.org/uk_tour_2013.jsp

http://www.cima.mayorscricket.com/teams

http://www.cimaglobal.com/

And here’s a catchy ditty from Brits in Toronto (that includes a world-ending catastrophic meteor for some strange reason) to get you going: