his side to an easy seven-wicket victory against Canada in the finals of the Scotiabank ODI Series at King City. During the Scotiabank Series the talents of Rizwan Cheema were discovered – he would become the star of the first Al-Barakah T20 Canada. The tournament involved Canada, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Canada lost all three of their matches, however the loss to Zimbabwe came in a bowl-out. Sri Lanka were eventual winners, defeating Pakistan in the Final. The tournament is expected to be played annually for the next four years. In late November 2008, Canada participated in the Americas Championship in Florida, USA. The United States, after years of disarray, pulled together and won the championship. Canada finished 3rd on Net Run Rate behind Bermuda, as their match was washed out due to rain. 2009 Canada began its innings in 2009 by planting its front foot forward. Bold management decisions allowed Cricket Canada to sign seven players to central contracts in 2008 and increased ICC funding in 2009 allowed this to continue as a move designed to regularise training sessions with a core group of cricketers. For the likes of Rizwan Cheema, who had been working in a fast-food restaurant called Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits, quitting the day job to play cricket was an easy decision; others, such as investment banker Ashish Bagai, had to mull it over before signing, even with the global financial crisis raging. Following this, the team headed to Sri Lanka for a training camp that would forever change the face of Canadian Cricket. For the first time in its history the players were exposed to a first-class environment and they responded by dominating the opening stages of the 2009 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. This led to a second-place finish and an invitation to the 2011 Cricket World Cup 2010 In late January the Canadian team embarked for Sri Lanka to play some warm-up matches ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in the UAE, which were to be followed by two ODIs and a four-day Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan. In January 2010, Canada's u19 team also made history as they upset heavily favoured Zimbabwe in the first match of the 2010 u19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. The Canadians built of this all round upset to finish a best ever 11th place at the tournament. Also in January 2010, Canada's men's team travelled