Cricket Scotland announces record numbers playing game

CRICKET Scotland has reported record participation numbers and a small pre-tax profit ahead of its agm tomorrow.

Figures published yesterday show there are now more than 45,000 cricketers in the country and that the sport is taught in 500 schools.

The agm will be told of a successful year for national teams during which the Saltires won all five of their one-day matches against their associate rivals.

• Read the full Cricket Scotland annual report (PDF)

There was also success for the Under-19s who will play in the Youth World Cup later this year after winning the ICC Global Qualifier.

Scotland’s women also achieved their first victory in the European Championships.

Confirming a pre-tax surplus of £8,586, chief executive Roddy Smith declared: “2011 was a very successful year on the field of play with some outstanding individual and team performances across many Scotland teams.

“Our development programmes continue to deliver to the many officials and coaches across Scotland whilst the increased participation figures are very welcome.

“To achieve a small surplus is very satisfying as the current economic conditions are challenging.

“With new commercial partners such as PROBIZ and The Parkmead Group coming on board we are hopeful that we will be able to continue to generate new resources to invest in the development of the game.”