Sandy Strang on Scottish cricket: Youths need a seconds chance

It's been one of the major fall-outs from the formation of a national league - the lack of consistent, nationwide provision of decent cricket for club second XIs, the crucial breeding-ground of young talent seeking to make its way into the SNCL and representative cricket beyond.

• Scotland cap Jan Stander helped Stoneywood-Dyce's second XI to a crucial win Picture: Getty

A fraught subject, it has come to a head in recent weeks as several eminent clubs have sought to marry the requirements of first XIs performing well in the SNCL and second teams attempting to stave off relegation to a lower local league, which could have a major negative impact on future youth development.

Newly-crowned SNCL Division 1 champions Arbroath, for example, undeniably one of the country's most productive conveyor belts of quality young players, raised a few eyebrows two weeks ago when they beefed up their relegation-threatened Strathmore & Perthshire Premier Division team with three leading first-team players, club captain Fraser Burnett, Greg Peel, and John Salmond. They were rewarded with a 119-run win over fellow strugglers Rossie Priory, while their weakened first XI nearly came a full cropper, managing only a tie at Stirling County. One more County run and the Lichties' challenge for the title would not have survived into Saturday's final-day showdown with Heriot's.

Stoneywood-Dyce, too, fielded club coach Jan Stander and former Scotland cap Stuart Coetzer on Saturday to secure a crucial 59-run win against Forfarshire second team Forthill, which ensures their second string remains in the Strathmore Premiership for another year. Forthill themselves had included veteran first-team batter Graeme Garden in their ultimately unavailing attempt to stay up.

Ayr, another club with a rich crop of highly promising youngsters like Calum Leck, Calum McLaughlin, and the Speirs brothers, only just managed to stave off second-XI relegation for their Cambusdoon XI in Western Union Division 2. First-team regulars Phil Wilson, David Johnstone and Neil McCrossin all played in the home defeat of GU Staff, which secured their present status. Demotion to the third tier would have meant playing in a predominantly astroturf division.

Drumpellier, facing a similar threat, boosted their Langloan XI's chances last week with the inclusion of Stevie Allison, Ian Warden and ex-Scotland bowler Alan Stevenson, whose 7 for 47 against Nunholm at Dumfries alleviated their relegation worries. Ironically one of the stars of Drumpellier first XI's defeat of Stoneywood-Dyce on the same day, Liam Bonner, was a swapped player plucked from the seconds.

The authorities in the west are now on the cusp of addressing the situation. Close-door talks last week considered the adoption of an enlightened three-tier template for the current Western Union: an SNCL Reserve League with no promotion or relegation, incorporating the likes of Ayr, Poloc and Kelburne seconds; a two-division ‘feeder' league, including teams like Glasgow Accies, Hillhead and GHK, all of whom have experienced SNCL cricket before and have valid aspirations to ascend the ladder again; and, finally, a three-division non-turf league for clubs like Victoria who play on astroturf and who, certainly at this juncture, have no immediate prospects of acquiring the requisite facilities for top-league entry. The word on the street is that these far-sighted proposals could well be adopted by the clubs in time to be rolled out for the 2011 season. It's long overdue.