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Cummins returns to World Cup after 15 years

Anderson Cummins will become only the second man to play for two teams in the World Cup if he turns out for Canada against Kenya on Wednesday.

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GROS ISLET: Paceman Anderson Cummins will become only the second man to play for two teams in the World Cup if he turns out for Canada against Kenya on Wednesday.   

The 40-year-old Barbadian-born fast bowler featured for the West Indies in the 1992 tournament and thought his chances of appearing in another World Cup had long gone.    

But after moving to Canada in 1996, he became involved in local cricket there and worked his way on to the national team for this year's showpiece, allowing him to return to the Caribbean where he is hoping to spring some surprises.   

Kepler Wessels played for Australia in the 1983 tournament before captaining his native South Africa in the 1992 event after they were readmitted to international sport following the end of apartheid.    

Graeme Hick, who played for England in the 1992 edition, was in the Zimbabwe squad for the 1983 Cup but was not picked for any matches.   

"I am proud of the achievement but it is secondary," he said on Tuesday.

"The ultimate goal is to try to get into the second round. These things are the icing on the cake but when I set my goal to get back here I wasn't looking at that."       

Cummins is also one of only five players to feature in a squad at the 1992 and 2007 World Cups. He joins illustrious company with Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Inzamam-ul-Haq the other names.   

Fast bowler Cummins played five tests for West Indies between 1993 and 1994 and amassed 63 one-day caps, the last of which came in a day-night match against Australia in Melbourne in 1995.   

However, he is probably best remembered for a game he was not selected for.   

In the Barbados test against South Africa in 1992, the Proteas' first back in the international arena, West Indies picked Kenny Benjamin ahead of him leading to uproar among his native Kensington Oval crowd.   

Many boycotted the match and a sign reading "No Cummins, No Goings" has entered Caribbean cricket folklore.     

Cummins, two months from his 41st birthday, is a long way from the player he was in 1992 but he is eager to prove he deserves his place in history.   

"I played my last match in Barbados and moved to Canada the next week. I played league cricket in Canada immediately I got there and then I got a normal job like normal people," added Cummins, an IT manager.   

"I took a break for six years and then my club called me up and asked if I could teach some of the younger guys. I came back and felt pretty good. I really started to get into good cricket shape."

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