And has strong roots in North American history! Cricket Nation looks at the widespread impact of the game on various Canadians including some beer league hockey players who give the sport a try!
But what does this sport mean to Canada? Does anybody in Canada play this game? Hockey-loving Canadians are surprised to know that Cricket was once Canada’s national sport as proclaimed by Prime Minister John A. MacDonald and Parliament in 1867. And with the increase in new Canadians from cricket-playing countries, cricket is once again growing in popularity in Canada.
Shot on location in Toronto, Bangalore India and Antigua, Cricket Nation explores the long and dramatic history of cricket in Canada. The first international sporting event between two countries occurred in 1844 when a Canadian cricket team from Toronto travelled to New York and played the Americans. In Cricket Nation, we learn how this historic match helped to ignite professional sports while also helping to define Canada as a nation. The history in Cricket Nation is supported by cricket historian Kevin Boller, along with expert testimony from members of the Toronto Cricket Club. Ian Chappell, the international cricket luminary, is also interviewed in Cricket Nation and provides great insight into the culture of the noble game.
Producer/Director
For Surinder, cricket is the one staple in life that immigrants to Canada use to help build communities in their new country.
On any given weekend summer day, Martin Fisher will play hockey in the morning and then play cricket in the afternoon. Unfortunately, his newfound love for cricket is often met with ridicule from his hockey-loving friends who do not take the sport of cricket seriously.
In this one-hour documentary, Cricket Nation introduces a group of beer league hockey players who believe that if they can play a tough sport like hockey, they can easily handle cricket. To prove it, they accept a challenge from Martin. Find out what happens when these board-slamming hockey heroes face one of the best cricket bowlers in Canada.
Cricket Nation is commissioned by Rogers Broadcasting and aired on Rogers SportsNet, CITY TV and OMNI 2.
Producer/Director
Producer/Director Stephen Young-Chin is a York University Film Production graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degree and with over 30 years of experience in the film industry. Stephen has worked in post-production as an editor, an Avid Certified Service Representative, a non-linear editing consultant, and a facility owner. In post-production, Stephen has delivered over 1,000 hours of programming for demanding clients including Mercedes Benz, Sony, Kraft Foods, CIBC, TrizecHahn Corporation, Barrick Gold, Wunderman Advertising, CBC, IMAX, Miramax Films, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, Alliance/Atlantis, HBO, Bravo, Turner Broadcasting, and Showtime Networks.
Stephen has produced and directed films for Canadian broadcasters such as Rogers Broadcasting. Stephen is currently producing an unscripted series with Entertainment One based on his short film, Hurricane Loggers, which he wrote, produced, and directed. He has experience working with Canada’s most significant funding agencies and has recently received development funding from Telefilm Canada and the CMF to complete a feature-length film project for CBC, Canada’s national broadcaster. His knowledge and relationships with Telefilm and CMF will help Jamaica partner with the Canadian film industry.
Martin Fisher is a Business Systems Analyst living in Brampton, Ontario. He specializes in analyzing and developing business software programming for financial service companies. Martin is married to his wife Niki for the past 29 years and has two adult kids – Andrew, 26 and Jessica, 24. Martin grew up playing many different sports in high school and to this day he often plays hockey, cricket and soccer – all on the same day. While working at the bank CIBC, Martin discovered an amateur cricket league and decided to give the game a chance. Through cricket, Martin has made many new friends from different countries and cultures that are new to Canada. To Martin, this new experience is one of the most exciting aspects of playing a game like cricket in Canada. For the past ten years, Martin has also played with a pick-up hockey group called “The Friday Night Boys” in Brampton. His hockey friends often ridicule Martin for playing cricket but in “Cricket Nation” Martin convinces the hockey players to accept a challenge and try batting against one of the fastest bowlers in Canada.
