History of the Global T20 Canada
When the Global T20 Canada was announced it received national attention across Canada’s vast sports network, momentarily drawing focus away from more established sports. Even the prime minister got in on the act, proclaiming it to be a great day for Canadian sport.
And it was, because in establishing the league Canada became the first non-Caribbean country to have a fully-sanctioned cricket league in North America. The tournament was announced in February of 2018 and was set to launch just a few months later.
The first season of the Global T20 Canada took place in 2018. It began with a draft on June 3rd, with over 1,600 players throwing their names into the hat. Over 600 of these were from Canada, with most playing at regional level, but there were also some big named players in the mix.
These players became “marquee players” and included Chris Gayle, a West Indies international who likely did more to attract media attention than any other player.
The Format of the Global T20 Canada
There are 20-overs per game in the Global T20 Canada, with 6 teams combining to play a total of 22 games in fewer than 3 weeks.
Like many T20 competitions, it follows a round-robin and then a knockout format. But there is one unique difference.
The teams who finish first and second in the group stage go on to play each other in the first playoff round. The second playoff game is contested by the teams that finished third and fourth in the group stage.
In the first playoff, the winner goes through to the final, whereas the loser advances through to a third playoff and plays the winner of the second playoff. The winner of that game then gets to join the winner of the first playoff in the grand final.
This places a greater importance on league positioning, because it means that the team who finishes first or second essentially gets two chances to make it to the final, whereas the teams that finish third or fourth only get one.
Teams Competing in the Canada Global T20
The inaugural season of the Global T20 Canada consisted of a total of six teams, which were as follows:
- Cricket West Indies B Team: The only non-Canadian team. They competed in a West Indies domestic competition as far back in 2001, although they were the same team in name only when they entered the Global T20 Canada.
- Edmonton Royals: Captained by Shahid Afridi during their first season in the competition.
- Montreal Tigers: Initially coached by former Aussie pro Tom Moody.
- Toronto Nationals: Won the first ever game in this competition when they beat the Vancouver Knights on June 28, 2018.
- Vancouver Knights: A team that was captained by the legendary Chris Gayle during their first season.
- Winnipeg Hawks: Led by Dwayne Bravo for their opening season.
All of these teams had at least four local cricketers in their squad when the inaugural season began. The matches were staged at venues across Canada, including the Maple Leaf Cricket Club and the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, both of which are in Toronto.
Betting on the Canada Global T20
Some smaller betting sites have yet to pickup the Canada Global T20, but we have found loads of bets on Bet365.
You can always rely on those guys to deliver when it comes to newer tournaments and more obscure tournaments, and they have definitely done that here.
At the time of writing we found a total of 20 betting markets, from the usual bets like “Win/Lose” and “Top Team Batsman”, to “1st Wicket Method” and even “To Win the Toss”. That’s the sort of coverage you don’t always get elsewhere but can always expect from Bet365.
