Around Scotland's cricket: Early July 2010

New electronic scoreboard for Hamilton Crescent

There have been lots of admiring glances at the new electronic LED scoreboard which has this season made its debut at Hamilton Crescent, home ground of the West of Scotland club in Glasgow's west end.

Remarkably, the conversion cost not much more than £7,000, of which approximately half was the provision of a mains power supply, extended in a trench from the pavilion some 150 yards away.

Senior members of the club, fed up with the refusal of youngsters these days to operate the old manual system, got together during last winter, consulted other clubs such as Carlton which had already gone down this route and decided this was the best way forward, to enable the scoreboard to be operated from anywhere around the ground by means of an electronic remote control 'zapper'.

The installation was done on a DIY basis before the current season began, with the help of some helpful loan of scaffolding by a local builder, with the fascia replaced with an all-new front, and the number units connected by a volunteer electrician.

Now, the up-to-date LED numbers shine brightly out onto the historic ground, even on a summer's day, and everyone is content at the great improvement in scoreboard service and appearance.

Asda Volunteer of the Month

Steve Sadler of Royal High Corstorphine Cricket Club has won the inaugural Asda Volunteer of the Month Award. Steve was presented with his certificate and £100 Asda gift voucher at a RHCC junior session by Asda Community Colleague Lynda Anderson from the Chesser Asda Store and Scotland international Simon Smith.

Arnie Sathiy, President of RHCC, who nominated Steve, wrote in his nomination "He (Steve) represents everything that cricket is and should be about, the betterment of our young people and the provision of sport for all. It is a source of great pride at the club that we have Steve amongst us and whether it be organising 'into-schools visits', completing Sportsmatch or other related paperwork or continuing our genuine involvement in whole club development, Steve remains a selfless volunteer who does this for no other reason than the love of the game."

Commenting on the award, Scotland international Simon Smith said: “It's motivated volunteers like Steve that are so important to the development of young players and clubs. Without people like Steve, I would not have got involved in the game and made it to where I am now and, having read the nomination, Steve fully deserves this award.”

• The closing date for nominations for the June Asda Volunteer of the Month have now closed and the winner of this award will be announced soon.  To nominate someone for the July Award simply complete the nomination form (insert hyperlink) and return it to Cricket Scotland before July 31.

And the MSPs join in, too!

A group of MSPs joined Scottish international cricketer Ryan Flannigan and local primary school youngsters from Parsons Green Primary to help promote the development of ASDA Kwik Cricket throughout primary schools in Scotland.

2,500 children already take part in ASDA Kwik Cricket in Scotland. Now Scottish politicians are coming together to promote this modified version of the game of cricket to get kids healthy and active at a young age, and help develop primary school sport.

The MSPs joined the youngsters in a game of ASDA Kwik Cricket, along with Ryan Flannigan who was on hand to give some tips. Following this event, the MSPs will work with Asda and Cricket Scotland to ensure that a primary school in their own constituencies gets the opportunity to try the sport for the first time, and to establish cricket as one of their curriculum sports. ASDA will provide new kits for each of the schools that are targeted, while Cricket Scotland will work with the schools to provide coaching.

The MSPs who are actively taking part in the scheme are:

• Nigel Don MSP (SNP, North of Scotland)
• Jamie McGrigor MSP (Con, Highlands and Island)
• Liz Smith MSP (Con, Mid Scotland and Fife)
• Tavish Scott MSP (Lib Dem, Shetland)
• Nanette Milne MSP (Con, North East Scotland)
• Iain Smith MSP (Lib Dem, North East Fife)
• Liam McArthur (Lib Dem, Orkney)
• Maureen Watt MSP (SNP, North East Scotland)

Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, said: "I am delighted to be sponsoring this event and would like to congratulate ASDA on their excellent efforts so far to involve more primary school pupils in the game. Kwik Cricket is the fastest growing sport in primary schools across Scotland and the new schools tournament set up by ASDA brings together boys and girls in mixed teams so that they can enjoy the game together.

"Along with the coaching work carried out by clubs and by Cricket Scotland, I have no doubt at all that this new initiative will encourage far more youngsters to continue with the game in secondary school and beyond, and that it will inspire more schools to take part in competitive sport; something that provides them with team skills as well as the opportunity to become more active and healthier."

Scotland is already the fastest-growing cricket nation in Europe and Cricket Scotland continues to take big steps at junior and senior levels. Steve Paige, head of Community Development, commented: “We are very excited to receive the backing of MSPs in this way. We already have over 18,000 girls and boys that take part in our development programmes. We see ASDA Kwik Cricket as a great vehicle to introduce children to the game and so will continue to drive this throughout Scotland.”

ASDA, sponsors of the ECB’s national Kwik Cricket competition, support events throughout Scotland by handing out food and drink to the young players. They also sponsor the appearance of cricketing ambassadors to promote the events and add to the experience for the players.

Fiona Campbell-Reilly, Head of 'ASDA in the Community', commented: “ASDA Kwik Cricket is a great way for young children to get healthy and active, while also having fun. We are committed to helping grow this format and getting as many kids joining in as possible. It’s great to work with MSPs to help build the sport up from the grassroots.”