When the Canadian national cricket
team steps onto to the Dallas cricket
stadium field for its 2024 ICC T20
World Cup opening match against co-hosts,
arch-rival USA, the versatile Guyana-born allrounder
Dillon Heyliger will be expecting to
among the eleven players doing so.
Heyliger has recently expressed his elation for Canada
having gained a qualification berth for the ICC
T20 World Cup to be staged jointly in the West
Indies and USA. Canada will be one of twenty
countries competing in the tournament. The
Canadians will play their Preliminary Round
matches in Group A, along with India, Ireland.
Pakistan and the USA.
Born October 21, 1989 in Suddie Essequibo
Guyana, Heyliger has now played 32 T20I
matches for his adopted homeland Canada.
As a right-arm medium pacer he has to date
capture 35 wickets at a lowly average of 20.14
and relatively impressive economy rate 0f
7.00. His belligerent lower-order batting has
produced 269 runs at an outstanding 53.80
average
The Essequibian pacer made his T20I debut
for Canada on 18 August 2019 against
the Cayman Islands. He finished his debut
tournament as the leading wicket-taker, with
eleven scalps in five matches.
In June 2021, Heyliger was selected to
participate in the Minor League Cricket
tournament in the United States following the
players’ draft. Being one of only four West
Indians on the Asian-dominated Canadian
team, does not bother him and he feels
comfortable in the Canada set up.
“All I want is just keep my focus and get
Canada qualified and take the team to a
World Cup” explained Dillon, who moved to
Canada in 2015 because of the politics in Guyana’s
cricket.
“It was tough for me to make the senior team
with how cricket was going in Guyana at that
time so I decided to move Canada” lamented
the Essequibian.
Dillon was born on October 21, 1989 at
the Suddie Hospital on the Essequibo
Coast to Orin and Tennessee Heyliger
and has three brothers, Orin Junior, Ryan
and Jason Heyliger who plays first-division
Cricket for Police in Guyana.
He attended the Abram Zuil Secondary
School and says he had quite life
growing up in Guyana’s largest County
with his siblings and Mom. “I came from
a cricketing family and lived close to
the playground and Beaches where we
would go play every day.
I fell in love with the game. I would enjoy
just being picked for the senior team to
take water and was so happy just to be
in the game. I played youth cricket for
Essequibo at the age of 13 for Essequibo
Under-15 and south Essequibo,” said
Dillion, who was a member of the Santos Club in
Suddie.
Dillon played for Guyana Defense Force (GDF) after
got a contact from Coach Roddy Lovell who was
the Coach when he played for Guyana at U-15 level
and as he got more matured he made the GDF First
Division team.
“My most memorable moment is playing in the World
Cup qualifiers playing against Ireland in Abu Dhabi
and winning the game in the last over” said Dillon, who
says his favourite player Brian Lara.
“God and my mom along with Coach Daniels and
Coach Abdul Sammad aka bird are main persons
who have helped and supported me. My biggest
motivation is my mom and my son Dillon junior. I just
want to be the best role model as a dad,” concluded
Dillon.
En route to its 2024 T20 World Cup qualification
Canada had participated in the Americas Qualifier
with three other countries in the round-robin format.
The other teams were: Hosts Bermuda, Panama and
Cayman Islands.
Canada and Bermuda played their final match with
both teams needing a win to go through. Canada won
by 39 runs which understandably triggered unbridled
celebrations.
“I was extremely happy to be part of the victorious
team Canada in the qualifier and more elated that we
have qualified for the World Cup next year,” Heyliger
related.
Ironically, Canada suffered their only defeat against
Bermuda in the opening round but Heyliger mentioned
the guys played very hard, smart, and committed
cricket throughout the tournament.
“We played great cricket despite losing to Bermuda; we had
aimed for the World Cup qualification and everyone was just
eager to do well,” an overwhelmed Heyliger commented.
The Canada-based
Guyanese Heyliger
stated that the
tournament was very
competitive and was
not surprised since the
winner will have an
opportunity to play in
front of the world.
“Our plans were well executed in Bermuda; we prepared
very well for the tournament despite some challenges with
conditions and artificial pitches, but we were disciplined enough
to come out on top in every department of the game,” the
34-year-old Heyliger, who represented his native country at the
youth level, declared.
Heyliger is a right-arm seamer and right-handed
batsman. He contributed with both
bat and ball having hit a highest score of 30.
During the tournament, opener Aaron Johnson
struck 121 to propel Canada to a resounding
163-run win over Panama.
A few games were truncated and abandoned
due to rain leaving Bermuda and Canada with
the best net-run-rates to clash in the decider.
In the midst of the competition, there was a
Hurricane which pounded the Island with
heavy rain-fall periodically.
Meanwhile, Canada have never featured
in the biennial T20 World before since it
inauguration in 2007 but the North America
nation went to the 50-overs World Cup on few
occasion