Speaking on Monday night, National Coach Pubudu Dassanayake admitted Kenya had outplayed Canada during the ICC Intercontinental Cup match, headed by some fine individual performances, but was upbeat and looking to his players to follow the example of Kenya�s 2006 tour of Canada. That summer, a Canadian side in which Dassanayake played won the Intercontinental Cup match at Maple Leaf CC, but Kenya struck back to take the ODI series 2-0 at Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

The first match in that series was Canada�s first ever home ODI match and Kenya�s extra experience as a team in playing ODI�s and matches against leading cricketing countries national teams and A teams proved a deciding factor. As was scoring runs under pressure, but the likes of Abdool Samad, who scored 87 in Canada�s second innings, will be hoping to ensure Canada posts good scores at Maple Leaf CC in the 2009 three ODI series that begins on Wednesday (10.30 am).

Acting Cricket Canada Ingleton Liburd will also be looking forward to saying �we won� than the �we lost� as he walked past me after Monday�s game with Kenya, that followed his answer about the starting time of the ODI�s.

In 2006, Canada was short of players with ODI experience. Something I felt was highlighted at CWC 2007 against Kenya when Geoff Barnett struck five fours in one over during the early going. Those 20 runs were more than the highest personal ODI score of most of the 13 player squad of Canadian-based players that went to South Africa for an Associates Tri-Series with the Netherlands and Bermuda.

�We won�, said Andy Pick with delight and relief after Canada beat Bermuda in Potchefstrom. A success repeated a few days later in Benoni. The two games with the Dutch might also have been won, but it didn�t quite happen. Sandeep Jyoti recently notched his first ODI century. He was going well in the opening game against the Dutch in Potchefstrom, but the transition from Canadian winter conditions to summer heat on the high veldt hit not just only Jyoti, who had to retire hurt but returned to bat later in the Canadian innings.

Sunil Dhaniram came through with the bat in that series, as did Ashish Bagai. What the Canadian players now need is for spectators to turn out in reasonable numbers for home games to add support. That could make all the difference.