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Other Items - Cricket Predates Football as an organised sport in Scotland - The Facts
Scots have been bats about cricket for centuries. But it's been one their best-kept secrets until now.
Cricket pre-dates football as an organised sport
The first recorded cricket match in Scotland was played at Schaw Park, Alloa, in September 1785. Almost certainly, the sport was brought north by the English military, and took root in garrison towns such as Kelso, which is the location of Scotland's oldest cricket club, for which records date back to 1820. Scotland's current international venue in Edinburgh, The Grange, was founded soon after.
Matches in front of crowds of several thousand were played on Glasgow Green in the early part of the 19th century. Two of these fledgling teams came together in 1848 to form Clydesdale, the city's oldest club, which played first in Kinning Park, where 'internationals' against 'England' were staged, then in Pollokshields.
The club's cricketers took to playing football as a casual winter pastime, and three of them were voted onto the inaugural board of the newly-formed Scottish Football Association in 1873. The following year, football's first Scottish Cup final was played between Queen's Park and Clydesdale.
It was no coincidence that the first football international against England was played on a cricket ground, namely at Hamilton Crescent, the Partick home of the West of Scotland club, in 1872, which six years later also hosted a match against the first Australian touring cricketers.
But the constraints of travel left Scottish cricket more-or-less isolated from the rapid development of the sport in England. In Shetland, cricketers play their leagues indoors during the winter! And, although regional leagues were in full swing in Scotland long before the 20th century, the setting up of a national league didn't follow for more than 120 years!
The current three-division national league is underpinned by a range of six regional leagues, with as many as ten divisions, operating around the country. Over 150 clubs are registered with Cricket Scotland, the national governing body, which is more than the number of rugby union clubs. But there are also dozens of unregistered cricket teams which take no part in the formal leagues, and it is not widely appreciated that, proportionately to the population, more cricket is played in Aberdeenshire than in any other part of the United Kingdom. Overall, it is estimated that there are around 12,000 active cricketers in Scotland, half of whom are under 18.
There is, however, a shortage of local authority playing facilities for the development of cricket, which is nowadays almost entirely contained within the club environment. The considerable interest in the game among Scottish-born Asian youngsters has begun to feed through to the national teams, and there is potential for 'Kwik Cricket' to take off in schools and after-school clubs.
International fixtures
Over the years, all the overseas touring teams who visited England made their way north for a few days' rest, and agreed to play 'international' matches against Scotland. 'Official' matches against Australia now number 26, but there have been nearly 100 games against Ireland, Scotland's nearest competitor, and there have been matches against more than 20 other nations.
Matches have never been played against an official England side, however, although regular games against the MCC were instituted in 1922, and more recently, against an 'amateur' England team in the European Championships.
The nearest that Scotland really came to the professional game was through participation in England's Benson & Hedges Cup and Natwest Trophy tournaments, from 1980 onwards. But, after more than 20 years, the Scots had won only three matches, and were still regarded as strict part-timers.
Modern times for Scottish cricket
Scotland's international cricket profile changed profoundly after the historic decision by the Scottish Cricket Union in 1992 to resign from the UK Cricket Council and to apply for membership of the International Cricket Council. Two years later, the ICC granted Associate Membership and in 1997 Scotland took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time, coming third and thus qualifying for participation in the World Cup at the first attempt.
Scotland played Australia in the opening match of the 1999 World Cup, at Worcester, and two of the other four first-round matches were played in front of 5,000 spectators at The Grange club in Edinburgh. A great opportunity to defeat Bangladesh was missed, but the push for ever-greater international status had been well and truly launched.
Although Scotland failed narrowly to qualify for the next World Cup, the progress of the national side has clearly been on the up ever since.
In 2003, Scotland were admitted to the English 'Sunday League' for a period of three years, playing 18 matches a season against the English counties. Sensationally, the Scots won three of their first four matches and there is no doubt that the experience propelled them to the top of the ICC's Associate Member countries in terms of standard and experience.
The rewards were almost instantaneous, as the sport attracted a major sponsor for the first time in the shape of Lloyds TSB Scotland, whose support was renewed for a further two years in 2005. In the same year, Cricket Scotland was also awarded a record 270,000 grant by sportscotland.
Scotland progressed in November 2004 to the semi-finals and final of the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup. The annual three-day tournament brings together the top countries from four continents, and Scotland defeated Canada in the final by a convincing margin.
Eight months later, the Scots were lifting another piece of ICC silverware high above their heads as they recorded an even more challenging victory over hosts Ireland in the final of the ICC Trophy, after winning their six previous games against other rivals from the second tier of international cricket. Scotland thus led the group of five countries qualifying for the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, each of which will receive $1m of financial support from the ICC over four years.
With the number of Test-playing nations now numbering 11, Scotland can now claim to be No 12 in the international cricketing firmament, and victory in the ICC Trophy has also rewarded them with One-Day International status from 1 January 2006.
The nation's sudden prominence in the sport is firmly backed up by its recent record in youth cricket. In 2005, Scotland's U19 and U23 teams won their respective European Championships, with the former qualifying for the fifth time for the Junior World Cup, in Sri Lanka in February 2006.
Further evidence of strength in depth is furnished by observing that an unprecedented total of seven Scots are currently on the books of English counties, adding to the smattering of previous Scots who have successfully pursued a professional cricket career.
In the 2007 World Cup, Scotland play Australia, South Africa and Holland in the first round of matches. The world will watch their progress with renewed interest.
Courtsey of Mike Stanger (2007)
Cricket pre-dates football as an organised sport
The first recorded cricket match in Scotland was played at Schaw Park, Alloa, in September 1785. Almost certainly, the sport was brought north by the English military, and took root in garrison towns such as Kelso, which is the location of Scotland's oldest cricket club, for which records date back to 1820. Scotland's current international venue in Edinburgh, The Grange, was founded soon after.
Matches in front of crowds of several thousand were played on Glasgow Green in the early part of the 19th century. Two of these fledgling teams came together in 1848 to form Clydesdale, the city's oldest club, which played first in Kinning Park, where 'internationals' against 'England' were staged, then in Pollokshields.
The club's cricketers took to playing football as a casual winter pastime, and three of them were voted onto the inaugural board of the newly-formed Scottish Football Association in 1873. The following year, football's first Scottish Cup final was played between Queen's Park and Clydesdale.
It was no coincidence that the first football international against England was played on a cricket ground, namely at Hamilton Crescent, the Partick home of the West of Scotland club, in 1872, which six years later also hosted a match against the first Australian touring cricketers.
But the constraints of travel left Scottish cricket more-or-less isolated from the rapid development of the sport in England. In Shetland, cricketers play their leagues indoors during the winter! And, although regional leagues were in full swing in Scotland long before the 20th century, the setting up of a national league didn't follow for more than 120 years!
The current three-division national league is underpinned by a range of six regional leagues, with as many as ten divisions, operating around the country. Over 150 clubs are registered with Cricket Scotland, the national governing body, which is more than the number of rugby union clubs. But there are also dozens of unregistered cricket teams which take no part in the formal leagues, and it is not widely appreciated that, proportionately to the population, more cricket is played in Aberdeenshire than in any other part of the United Kingdom. Overall, it is estimated that there are around 12,000 active cricketers in Scotland, half of whom are under 18.
There is, however, a shortage of local authority playing facilities for the development of cricket, which is nowadays almost entirely contained within the club environment. The considerable interest in the game among Scottish-born Asian youngsters has begun to feed through to the national teams, and there is potential for 'Kwik Cricket' to take off in schools and after-school clubs.
International fixtures
Over the years, all the overseas touring teams who visited England made their way north for a few days' rest, and agreed to play 'international' matches against Scotland. 'Official' matches against Australia now number 26, but there have been nearly 100 games against Ireland, Scotland's nearest competitor, and there have been matches against more than 20 other nations.
Matches have never been played against an official England side, however, although regular games against the MCC were instituted in 1922, and more recently, against an 'amateur' England team in the European Championships.
The nearest that Scotland really came to the professional game was through participation in England's Benson & Hedges Cup and Natwest Trophy tournaments, from 1980 onwards. But, after more than 20 years, the Scots had won only three matches, and were still regarded as strict part-timers.
Modern times for Scottish cricket
Scotland's international cricket profile changed profoundly after the historic decision by the Scottish Cricket Union in 1992 to resign from the UK Cricket Council and to apply for membership of the International Cricket Council. Two years later, the ICC granted Associate Membership and in 1997 Scotland took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time, coming third and thus qualifying for participation in the World Cup at the first attempt.
Scotland played Australia in the opening match of the 1999 World Cup, at Worcester, and two of the other four first-round matches were played in front of 5,000 spectators at The Grange club in Edinburgh. A great opportunity to defeat Bangladesh was missed, but the push for ever-greater international status had been well and truly launched.
Although Scotland failed narrowly to qualify for the next World Cup, the progress of the national side has clearly been on the up ever since.
In 2003, Scotland were admitted to the English 'Sunday League' for a period of three years, playing 18 matches a season against the English counties. Sensationally, the Scots won three of their first four matches and there is no doubt that the experience propelled them to the top of the ICC's Associate Member countries in terms of standard and experience.
The rewards were almost instantaneous, as the sport attracted a major sponsor for the first time in the shape of Lloyds TSB Scotland, whose support was renewed for a further two years in 2005. In the same year, Cricket Scotland was also awarded a record 270,000 grant by sportscotland.
Scotland progressed in November 2004 to the semi-finals and final of the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup. The annual three-day tournament brings together the top countries from four continents, and Scotland defeated Canada in the final by a convincing margin.
Eight months later, the Scots were lifting another piece of ICC silverware high above their heads as they recorded an even more challenging victory over hosts Ireland in the final of the ICC Trophy, after winning their six previous games against other rivals from the second tier of international cricket. Scotland thus led the group of five countries qualifying for the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, each of which will receive $1m of financial support from the ICC over four years.
With the number of Test-playing nations now numbering 11, Scotland can now claim to be No 12 in the international cricketing firmament, and victory in the ICC Trophy has also rewarded them with One-Day International status from 1 January 2006.
The nation's sudden prominence in the sport is firmly backed up by its recent record in youth cricket. In 2005, Scotland's U19 and U23 teams won their respective European Championships, with the former qualifying for the fifth time for the Junior World Cup, in Sri Lanka in February 2006.
Further evidence of strength in depth is furnished by observing that an unprecedented total of seven Scots are currently on the books of English counties, adding to the smattering of previous Scots who have successfully pursued a professional cricket career.
In the 2007 World Cup, Scotland play Australia, South Africa and Holland in the first round of matches. The world will watch their progress with renewed interest.
Courtsey of Mike Stanger (2007)
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