Alec Stewart visits Scotland

Clydesdale Bank ambassador and former England internationalist, Alec Stewart OBE joined current Scotland captain, Gordon Drummond as the pair ran a coaching session at Cramond Primary School (13 October) before taking a question and answer session at Ellersly House for some of the Performance players and Clydesdale Bank volunteers.

A bright October morning greeted the former England wicket keeper, who had also been accompanied by the Clydesdale Bank trophy for his trip up to Scotland, as he helped coach 60 enthusiastic primary 6 pupils.  With the help of the Cricket Scotland coaches and Clydesdale Bank volunteers, the session ran smoothly as the kids enjoyed testing their talent with various drills, which focused on improving their cricket skills.

With the coaching over, there was an opportunity for pupils to put questions to Gordon Drummond and Alec Stewart; the Scotland captain had suggested prior to the session that there was a likely chance of a few entertaining questions and they weren’t to be disappointed- the opening question from an eager 11 year old, “when did cricket start?” put a smile on the face of many.

Neil Russell, Active Schools Coordinator for the Royal High Cluster commented “Cricket has a strong presence in the cluster with Active Schools, the local cricket club and the cricket development staff from City of Edinburgh Council work closely together to introduce as many children as possible through curricular taster sessions and after school clubs.  It was a huge thrill to have Alec, one of the game’s all time great come along and this will hopefully, inspire many of them to stay involved in cricket and sport in general.”

The day was rounded off with Performance Development Manager, Craig Wright on hand to facilitate the Q&A session in the afternoon, as Alec Stewart entertained those in attendance with a real insight into the mentality of a man who played over 300 matches for England.

As the afternoon progressed, Mr Stewart shared how he used to motivate himself to consistently perform at the highest level, whilst highlighting some of his high and low points of a excellent career. It was also interesting to hear how many skills in life can be transferrable between business and sport. 

It was a most enjoyable day for all concerned and Cricket Scotland would like to thank Cramond Primary, Clydesdale Bank and of course, Alec Stewart for making the trip up.

                                                                                                                 Photos by Donald MacLeod