Thuraisingam in from the cold

The Canadian squad for the Intercontinental Cup semi-final against UAE in Sharjah next month has been announced, and there were a few raised eyebrows when Sanjayan Thuraisingam was included in the 15-man party.

Thuraisingham is believed to have fallen out with the management after the 2003 Word Cup, and his performances over the summer - he took nine wickets in the Toronto leagues - hardly demanded his inclusion. But the selectors opted to take a gamble on a proven performer. A comment on the Canadian board's own website hardly endorses his claims, pointing out that he was dropped in 2003 "after the controversy regarding his health and behaviour with former national coach Gus Logie and team manager Karram."

A newcomer is Jason Patraj, but like Thurasingham, his selection is clouded in mystery. He only managed one fifty all summer, and was not even a regular in his club's first team.

It is expected that John Davison will be released from his commitments with South Australia to lead the side.

Canada squad John Davison (capt), Desmond Chumney, Zubin Surkari, Ian Billcliff, Ashish Bagai, Sanjay Thurasingham, Haninder Dhillon, Don Maxwell, Sunil Dhaniram, Kevin Sandher, Austin Codrington, Ashish Patel, Jason Patraj and Umar Bhatti.