Born, May 6, 1998 in Barbados and now aged 24 years, 8 months and counting, Nicholas Rasheed Kirton has of late been straddling two cricket worlds. Those of his native Barbados as well as Canada, his adopted home.
His mother being Canadian-born of Bajan heritage and his father a 100% pure son of “the Rock,’ Kirton enjoys the privilege of playing cricket for either country, whenever it becomes most convenient for him to do so.
As a left-handed middle-order batsman, he has to date appeared in just 8 List A matches for Canada. By comparison his appearances in Barbados’ blue and yellow colours have been much more numerous, 46 in total already, comprised of 5 T20Is, 3 First Class, 30 List A and 8 T20s.
Kirton has, however, been far more impressive when playing for Canada than Barbados. His 8 matches in Canadian colours thus far have produced 299 runs from 7 innings batted for an impressive 59.80 average. Those runs have also been graced with a century, 108 not out scored against Vanuatu during last July’s Canadian hosted ICC World Cup Challenge League A Second Round.
Kirton’s Challenge League A second round performances were sufficient to earn his spot on the Canadian squad to Malaysia this past December for the tournament’s third and final round. Canada played unbeaten throughout the tournament to emerge as champions, thereby progressing to the 2023 ICC World Cup next qualification round.
Kirton recorded a half-century during the tournament. His 81-ball 65 not out against Qatar was punctuated by 2 sixes and 3 fours and scored at a strike rate of 80.25. He only played in two more of Canada’s scheduled matches, scoring 11 against Singapore and 30 against the tournament hosts Malaysia.
Canada’s next round of the aforementioned ICC 2023 World Cup Qualifiers will be in Namibia this coming March month end. Fully expected to be a member of the selected Canadian squad for the tournament, Kirton could possibly, however, find himself faced with a bit of a scheduling conflict.
With seven of its regular starting XI players having been called to West Indies duties for the two-Test tour to Zimbabwe, the Barbados Pride has also selected Nicholas Kirton to its squad for the first two rounds of the 2023 Caribbean Regional 4Day Championships, which starts on Tuesday, January 31 and concludes on February 11.
The 2023 Caribbean Regional Championships’ third round will begin on March 15 by which time Barbados’ West Indies players would have returned from their Zimbabwe tour duties. Under normal circumstances, with all the front-line players back home and fully available, Nicholas Kirton would
not be expected to make the Barbados Pride squad. Outstanding performances by the stylish, young left-hander in both matches of the opening round could, however, change all that in a jiffy.
Furthermore, should Kirton indeed score big in both of his Barbados Pride Regional 4day First Round matches, he could even by so doing stick his hand up for selection to the West Indies squad for the tour to South Africa which gets underway just a few days later. Such is the fragility of the current West Indies batting middle order, and the associated existence of opportunities for anyone with a broad bat and big scores to announce themselves to the Selectors’ attention.
If any such wonderful outcome were to befall Nicholas Kirton, his two countries’ bestraddling act would, however, come to a grinding halt. While the ICC’s regulations allow him to play first-class cricket for either Canada or Barbados they would not grant the same dual privileges in relation to the West Indies. It would have to be one or the other, Canada or the West Indies. Much like Haydn Walsh’s recent forced choice between continuing to play for the USA, or opting to pursue a career in West Indies cricket, the latter being his chosen option.
That’s a bridge Kirton will have to decide how to cross, if and when it ever becomes necessary. In the interim, he can continue to enjoy having the best of both his Barbadian and Canadian cricket worlds!