There is a painful irony in the fact that Scottish cricket has made significant steps on the field in recent years despite tearing itself apart off it.
The men’s team have gone toe to toe with England and Australia at the World Cup and the women’s side have qualified for their maiden appearance on the same stage to the backdrop of acrimony and finger-jabbing as historical claims of alleged racism, misogyny and other transgressions are batted back and forward.
It has been two years now since the publication of the Changing the Boundaries review and, while the aftershocks from that seismic trauma are still rippling through the sport, there is a feeling the time has arrived to look forward rather than continually dwelling on the past.
To that aim, Cricket Scotland will tomorrow launch a new four-year strategic plan in which growing the girls and women’s game, developing community cricket, creating a culture of equality and providing more support at elite performance level will all form key strands of a multi-faceted approach.
It might be wishful thinking at this juncture to expect those warring parties to immediately unify behind the new pathway but, with time, the hope is that those involved in the game will all come together to help take it forward.
“I’d like to think we can put it behind us,” says Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland’s CEO, of the past few years of turbulence. “We are at an important juncture as we move into the new phase of the referrals process which is ongoing discussions and working through that with the people involved.
“But at the same time, we’re releasing our new strategy which is about how we look forward. I hope what that does is inspire everyone to say, ‘let’s get behind this as a collective’ as our strategy is about uniting communities to make Scottish cricket better every day.”
Lindblade is the ideal person to have at the helm of this renaissance. Having lived in Scotland for almost four years – her previous role was CEO of last summer’s combined cycling world championships – and having worked extensively in cricket earlier in her career, the Australian knows the landscape better than most.
Appointed last October but with a start date in February, her first six months in the job have been spent mostly firefighting but she is hopeful of being more proactive and productive in the years ahead.
“I loved my time working in cricket before,” she adds. “It’s a sport I grew up with, one that I love and am passionate about and now I’ve come back into it at a senior leadership level.
“One of the reasons I took on the role was because I believed there was a great opportunity within cricket in Scotland. And since my appointment was announced I’ve had so many people tell me they play cricket, played cricket previously or follow it closely. That was positively surprising.
“People perceive cricket to be a bit of a niche sport in Scotland but we have a massive opportunity to make this a sport for everyone. One of the big conundrums for us, like many sports, is how do we get into that state school system? How do we get young boys and girls to choose cricket at an early age and give the schools the resources to enable that? That will be one of our key aims."
The quest for full membership of the ICC [International Cricket Council] remains ongoing although not imminent. Although there are undoubtedly financial benefits of joining international cricket’s elite club, it comes with challenges, too, as Ireland have often found to their cost.
“Full membership is always going to be on our radar and, from the outside, it’s an aspirational thing to have,” adds Lindblade. “But once you look behind the scenes and get an understanding of what goes into becoming a full member and the implications that has on your operations, we need to make sure we take it slowly.
"We need to get our own house in order before we go heading down that path and learn what we can from Ireland and Afghanistan as the most recent full members. So, for now, it’s a watch and see.
“We also need to look at how we become more self-sustaining financially. We need to be out talking to companies that want to partner with a sport that’s got a refreshed approach and is going on a new journey. It’s a great story to tell for anyone joining us now.”
Cricket in this country still doesn’t have a home to call its own and it is another topic that will need tackled in the years ahead.
“Looking at our facilities all across Scotland is another part of the new strategy,” reveals Lindblade. “We do have challenges with the weather so we have a high reliance on indoor facilities and the quality and availability of those vary.
"But having a home of our own one day would be terrific. Scotland is one of the hosts of the 2030 World Cup so that’s a really good marker for us. Funding is stretched at the moment so we have to have our voice heard – at government and at ICC level – about what our aspirations are for Scottish cricket. A venue that we could train and play at would make a huge difference.”
Long-term strategies are one thing but, for a sport like cricket trying to push into football’s domination of the sporting spotlight, nothing can beat a high-profile occasion to grab the attention. Australia’s visit to the Grange for three T20Is in early September ought to do the trick on that front, should the weather hopefully play ball. But who will Lindblade be supporting?
“No split loyalties for me – it’s Scotland all the way,” she adds with a laugh. “We’re really excited about having Australia playing here before they head to England. After the performance we gave against them at the World Cup, let’s hope we can replicate that three more times but with the results going in our favour this time.”
