Cricket bowled over by cash injection
Tuesday 4 April 2006
Sports Minister Patricia Ferguson took to the pitch today at a National Cricket Academy Easter camp to announce a £317,000 sportscotland investment in Cricket Scotland.
The funding, of which £144,000 is sportscotland Lottery cash, will target coaching, junior cricket development, club and organisational development.
Ms Ferguson said: "Cricket has a long history in Scotland and this investment will help to ensure the sport has a bright future. Funding will help to develop the youth game and support clubs as they promote cricket at a local level as well as providing a boost for the Scottish team as they prepare for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies."
Joining the Sports Minister and Cricket Scotland Chief Executive Officer Roddy Smith in Edinburgh was national team captain Craig Wright, fresh from World Cup pre-competition and training in Barbados. Last year’s ICC Trophy win in Ireland helped Scotland secure a world ranking of 12th and a place in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies and has been instrumental in raising the profile of the game nationally.
Cricket in Scotland has made tremendous progress in recent years and the governing body is working with clubs and local authorities to expand the game into new areas. The Cricket Scotland development team has grown from three to ten in the last three years and now covers the whole of Scotland, promoting and delivering a wide range of cricket programmes. By 2006 all 200 cricket clubs in the country will aim to have teams in at least one junior age group as part of Cricket Scotland’s TOPclub programme.
The key work of Cricket Scotland’s new position of Head of Education and Training will be supported by sportscotland funding. Andy Tennant will be taking on this role, to improve coach education, ensure the development and delivery of the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC) programme and to work towards long-term development in the sport. Tennant will oversee the work of the youth development manager, his previous position. The remit of this development role is to work closely with clubs and schools so that all young people in Scotland can experience the game, and to increase participation in the sport via such programmes as the Easter camps. (The camps attract nearly 80 children a day, from youngsters and sport newcomers to skilled teenagers.) Nearly £100,000 of this year’s investment will go towards coaching development and support, with £50,000 allocated to the medal success programme for the provision of elite coaching support and pre-World Cup fitness and training assistance.
Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland CEO, said: "Cricket in Scotland continues to progress in all areas. The support of sportscotland is invaluable in assisting us to put the structures and programmes in place to drive our game forward."
Julia Bracewell, Chair, sportscotland, said: "The £317,000 investment will support key areas of Cricket Scotland’s long-term development plan, with the aim to encourage people of all ages to participate at a recreational level and to drive the sport, its coaches and officials to a higher performance standard.
"sportscotland is also committed to making sure that all our talented players and teams have the development and support needed to play on a world level for Scotland, and we wish the national team good progress in the lead up to the 2007 World Cup."
- Athlete Support funding is now largely administered through the governing body.
- Cricket Scotland is one of six pilot fast-track sports in the UKCC’s coach education programme, whose goal is to ensure the equivalence of qualifications across all sports. The initial UKCC objective was to establish a five-level coaching qualification linked to the national occupational standards by 2004, which is now complete.
- In February of this year the European Cricket Council awarded the 2005 ICC Development Programme Annual Awards to Cricket Scotland for best overall cricket development programme for the work of its extensive network of development officers.
- Scotland will play Pakistan in a one-day international match at the Citylets Grange in Edinburgh on 27 June, the first official International since receiving ODI status.
- The 2006 Scottish Cup Final will take place 27 August at Greenock’s Glenpark cricket ground.
- Cricket Scotland and its partners are in the bid to host the ICC 2013 Twenty20 World Championships.
- Also attending the photocall were national team members and Cricket Scotland employees Simon Smith (East Regional Development Officer) and Steven Knox (Cricket Development Officer) who were coaching at the Easter camps.