Canada ready to take on the world’s best in T20 World Cup

By Deny Branly

July, 20th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Cricket to many in North America is the colonial game that got away, with most countries that compete at the sharp end of the worldwide game, having their roots ingrained in British Commonwealth history.

The likes of India, Australia, South Africa and of course England, continue to dominate the sport, that is continually evolving as a worldwide product and that has become the 2^nd most watched sport on the planet after football.

However, whilst the West Indies often flew the flag for the Americas with aplomb in a cricketing context, Canada and the United States have always been two gaping holes in the world cricket map.

Everything has been put into the swing.

That is until now, with the ICC T20 World Cup set to get underway, with America and the West Indies all hosting games, in one of the flagship events of the global cricketing and wider sporting calendar.

Breaking new ground and bringing the game to new fans is the aim here for the ICC, as they look to encourage as many new people as possible to the game and with a tournament expansion now seeing 20 different countries taking part, it promises to be a real international spectacle over the next few weeks.

Fittingly, the first game of the tournament sees hosts United States, take on neighbours Canada, in what should be an enthralling contest, that organisers are hoping will capture the hearts and minds of fans across the continent.

Does Canada have a chance?

With such a congested sporting space in Canada, it is perhaps a little difficult to see how a seasonal sport such as cricket could fit in.

Football, baseball, basketball and ice-hockey always pick up the big numbers in terms of participation, with soccer, tennis and golf also very much in the mix too.

That said, the Canadia Cricket Association is working hard to grow the game all across Canada and the influx of players from different heritages is also enabling the Canadian men’s national team to have a much more polished look about it.

The precision – waiting for the ball to get to the bat is thrilling to watch.

Unlike the USA, Canada have competed in the 50-over ICC World Cup before, on four previous occasions, never managing to progress beyond the group stages but this is their T20 World Cup debut.

Big cricketing tournaments always garner plenty of attention with bookmakers and sports betting fans alike and whilst Canada aren’t seen as having any chance of winning the competition, there are still plenty of betting markets to be accessed.

The 2024 ICC World Cup begins on June 2^nd 2024 and runs for 4 action-packed weeks, giving cricket punters plenty of chances to get involved and players can check out the best T20 World Cup odds and more at top sportsbooks listed at bettingtop10.ca.

Who will be 2024 ICC T20 World Cup Champions?

In recent times, England have dominated the shorter formats of world cricket and whilst they haven’t been in great form over the past 12 months, they remain the defending champions and they look well placed to have a good go once again here.

There may be a lot that North Americans have to learn about the sport – but high fives are known by everyone.

Australia bagged the ICC ODI World Cup in late 2023 and they look to have plenty of confidence in their squad as a result and they should relish the conditions in the USA and the West Indies.

Two sides that won’t love the conditions are India and Pakistan but both teams are incredibly dangerous on their day, possessing some of the best match winners in the world and neither can be discarded.

Elsewhere, the likes of South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand will all fancy their chances of going all the way and becoming the world T20 champions in 2024.