Liz Smith, MSP: The little Scotlander approach to sport should be kicked out

Published on Wednesday 15 July 2009 21:59

SPORT transcends politics, giving hope and inspiration to millions: it does not respect political divisions and nor should it.

The British Lions held the UK captive during their recent tour to South Africa. Chris Hoy's Olympic heroics were cheered both north and south of the Border, as were Andy Murray's recent efforts in reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon. And, of course, in my sport of cricket, the Ashes victory over Australia in 2005 was gripping stuff, with Freddie Flintoff's brilliance celebrated just as much in Edinburgh as at Edgbaston.

None of this is to the Nationalists' liking; it does not fit in with their blinkered vision of what Scotland should be.

But the little Scotlander attitude of the SNP has gone further this week with the shameless politicisation of sport. An SNP MSP this week tabled a motion complaining at the "wall-to-wall coverage" of the Ashes, suggesting it is a game of marginal interest in Scotland.

Cricket is, in fact, one of the fastest-growing sports in Scotland, particularly among junior players and women's teams. It is going from strength to strength, largely thanks to the fantastic efforts of Cricket Scotland and its chief executive, Roddy Smith.

This season, over 18,000 young people participated in introductory cricket programmes throughout Scotland and that is compared with 11,000 in 2004.

There are now almost 5,000 senior players and over 5,000 junior players in Scotland, which represent substantial increases in the recorded totals of just five years ago. The number of teams has also grown and we now have 375 qualified coaches, compared with under 200 a decade ago.

Happily, more and more schools, including many in the state sector, are teaching basic cricket skills in PE lessons. There is also the terrific National Cricket Academy at Mary Erskine, where it is very difficult to get bookings on account of just how large the demand is.

Likewise, BBC Scotland has broadcast live radio coverage from Scotland games over the past five years, including the recent World T20. There is a significant local and national media presence at all big games, which would not be the case if the game was of "marginal interest" to the Scots they report for.

If you ask people in cricket communities across Scotland, such as Freuchie – winners of the national village cricket tournament a few years ago – they will, quite frankly, be astonished by the SNP's assertions that cricket is a minority interest.

Cricket is enjoyed by thousands in Scotland because it is a game of guile, strategy and skill. One of the most enjoyable aspects of coaching young players is seeing how it teaches them to think ahead, work as a team and strive to improve.

So, never mind that the Ashes series has been shown on Sky rather than terrestrial television and that it is not for politicians to dictate what people can watch. Never mind that this week's attack by the SNP has been a shameless attempt to play on anti-English sentiment. And never mind that this is the same pathetic line the party tried unsuccessfully to peddle in 2005, when England won the Ashes.

It is sad that First Minister Alex Salmond's party chooses to undermine something it neither likes nor understands.

Cricket is not for everyone, but rather than press on with politicising sport according to nationalist prejudice, the SNP would be wise to wake up.

Cricket is growing all across Scotland and this will only continue in the years ahead. The SNP had better get used to it.

&#149 Liz Smith is a Conservative list MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. She won seven caps with the Scottish Ladies' Cricket XI