Turning a Corner

After failing to qualify for the World T20 in the Caribbean and the 50-over World Cup in the subcontinent, it appeared as though Scottish cricket had reached its' lowest ebb. Which when you consider the lack of real highs over the years, is saying an awful lot about the state the game had got itself into north of the border. And yet there is still a demand for cricket in a country where rugby dominates the minds of the middle class and football that of everyone else. I was up north this weekend, and the number of (currently frozen) cricket grounds I passed was certainly disproportionate to the size of the population. And there are signs that things are improving.

Cricket Scotland made a number of significant announcements this week, which will ensure the exposure of the game in this country to a wider audience. Every couple of years, England pop up to Edinburgh to hand out a hiding to the Scotland side in an ODI. However, 2012 will be the first occasion that Sky Sports will televise this event. It probably won't look pretty, and in all likelihood will probably rain, but it is at least a chance to showcase some of the talent that we have hiding up here. Add this to the news that England will play a tour match in Dubai next month against an XI made up of Associate players, and you see the chances that are being given to elevate the stature of the likes of Kyle Coetzer and Majid Haq, the Scottish contingent in that squad. Incidentally, Somerset's great new hope George Dockrell, Murali Kartik's replacement in the spin department, will also feature, with Warwickshire's William Porterfield skippering the side in the 3-day warm-up before the Pakistan series.

Our young players are also being afforded opportunities to learn their trade abroad. 3 Scottish lads have been chosen by the ICC European Academy to spend part of the winter in Pune, India, learning the skills required to succeed on the subcontinent, much like the England Lions, led by James Taylor, will attempt to do in Bangladesh in the New Year. One of my teammates for the university has just broken into the Scotland squad and is taking a year out to play grade cricket in Australia, where I gather he is doing rather well.

All of this points towards a group of players moving slowly but surely towards a greater level of professionalism. As a cricketing nation, we have fallen behind other associates such as Ireland, Afghanistan and the Netherlands in recent times, but with a group of young players being afforded great opportunities and players being given a higher profile, there is now little to get in the way of the Scottish side moving forward. After the ICC reneged on its' attempt to bar Associates from the 2015 World Cup, qualification for that tournament needs to be a long-term aim, and to get there with the majority of the side as professional cricketers.

From a snowy Crieff,
RM