Derek Perera

Over the last two decades, Derek Perera has become one of the most iconic names in the world of cricket in Canada. To add to that, the cricketing fraternity outside Canada has been full of praises and has applauded his contribution to Canadian cricket ecosystem.

Derek believes in the process of nurturing talent from a young age and this belief of his along with an eye for talent scouting has helped him and the Ontario Cricket Academy (OCA) produce some of the brightest stars in the sport in Canada.

As a Canadian-born cricketer, Derek rose to great heights as a player at a young age. He made a rapid rise through the system and graduated from Canada’s U-19 and U-23 teams at the age of 17.

This was just the beginning though. Next year, he went on to represent the Canada national senior cricket team at the age of 18 when he got a chance to try his skills against Bangladesh in 1996. In the same year, he also played against India and grabbed eyeballs among the cricket fraternity all over the world.

He has played cricket around the globe including club stints in England (county league), Sri Lanka (national league) and Australia (grade cricket). His experience of playing international cricket at the senior and first class level has helped him evolve as a coach and a mentor a lot of cricketers in Canada. He’s become the Guru ‘Derek’ for a lot of youngsters in Canada.

As a coach, Derek has been plying his trade since 1998. Like his playing days, Derek has displayed equal dedication towards becoming a great coach. He has coached Canada U-15, U-19 and U-23 cricket teams already and was also the first ever Performance Analyst for the Canadian national senior cricket team helping them qualify for the World Cup in 2007. The ICC recognized him as one of the leading coaches in the continent by naming him as the Head Coach of the well renowned ICC Americas combined team in the 2016 West Indies Cricket Board ‘Nagico Super 50” tournament.

Derek is one of the most qualified and reliable coaches in Canada and is immensely respected worldwide in the cricketing circle. He has a proven track record and possesses passion for the game, second to none.

Apart from his playing experience as an international cricketer, he is a certified Level 2 cricket coach as well. In addition, he has undergone specialist cricket coach training at the MRF Pace Foundation under Dennis Lillee and has been a part of ICC High Performance Workshops with the late Bob Woolmer and Richard Done.

One of his key strengths as a coach is his background in Sports Science with an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and his Masters in Sports and Exercise Science and Health Promotion. Not only does this give him an edge over other coaches in Canada, but also helps him understand the player and his performance better.

Derek’s vision and passion for the game along with his undying efforts to improve the standard of cricket in Canada and help the country get back to the elite level has already reaped fruits. Several cricketers coming out of the Ontario Cricket Academy (OCA) are making it to the elite level and being called for stints in countries like India, Australia, West Indies, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Derek’s dream is to get Canada on the map of elite cricket playing nations in the world.

Favorite Cricketing Memory: Making my debut for the Canadian national team against Bangladesh at the age of 18 (worst memory in the same game - getting a first ball duck!)

Favorite Batsman: Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Aravinda DeSilva

Favorite Bowler: West Indies pacers of 1980’s, Shane Warne