The Scottish Cricket Union is to take active steps to halt the decline of cricket in state schools. The game is still strong in the independent sector, but concern at the lack of other schools playing has prompted new initiatives.

While kwik cricket, an introductory version of the game, is popular in primary schools, there is a worry that youngsters are not carrying on to play the full game. So the SCU is promoting inter cricket at secondary level and already Tayside is using it as a step up from kwik cricket. West of Scotland will follow its lead in the summer holidays.

Inter cricket is an abridged version of the game that can be played indoors or out. Teams wear coloured clothing and the ball is not as hard as a full cricket ball and not as soft as a kwik cricket ball. It is ideal for pupils aged 10 to 14. After that, the SCU would expect children to start playing the full game.

“Cricket is having to change with the times,” says Iain Kennedy, who has just stepped down as Sportscotland’s cricket co-ordinator. “While some state schools have had a tradition of playing cricket, I think the day of a school team getting together on a Saturday and getting in a minibus to go away for a three to four hour match are gone.

“I don’t think you can expect that sort of commitment from teachers these days.”

While Mr Kennedy is disappointed that the number of state schools playing the game has dropped, clubs have taken on the running of junior sections to ensure they still have a stream of talent for the future.

There are a large number of cricket clubs in Scotland - the sport boasts more clubs than rugby - and the game seems to reach every nook and cranny of the country.

On the eve of the new season, the sport is being scrutinised closely after the surprise departure of Jim Love, the SCU’s director of cricket, in the winter.

However, a European conference on youth cricket, hosted at Hampden Park in Glasgow last month, showed that Scotland was developing on the correct lines. Around 20 representatives from countries such as Finland, Norway and Greece attended, as well as 70 from Scotland.

The SCU took the chance to launch its Scottish Youth Cricket Pathways programme, which lays down guidelines for what it believes will provide a successful future. It emphasises a strong administrative structure and a development pyramid whereby players can progress from schools to regional level to district and eventually international level if they are good enough.

However, it does not only cover excellence. It also attempts to ensure that if a player is not good enough to play at representative level, there is an escape route whereby he can go on to play at local level for a club so that he is not lost to the game altogether.

“A lot of the Pathways programme depends on what resources are available,” concedes Mr Kennedy. “At present there are three full-time development officers in Scotland and one part-time officer. In an ideal world, we would have eight full-time development officers. An alternative would be to have four full-time officers supported by a strong framework of part-time officers throughout the country.

“It is one thing producing a document like this but it has to be backed up with action and now is the time for something to be done.

“Although Scottish cricket does not have a lot of financial resources, at least we are starting from a realistic level.

“The good thing about Scottish sport is that we can all learn from each other’s mistakes and cherry pick ideas from others.”

Again, getting the game into schools is one of the priorities.

An initiative called Howzat is also being pursued by the SCU. This will consist of training at primary and secondary levels, with a resource pack for each. A CD-Rom in the secondary pack will contain interactive elements to promote interest in the game and stimulate education.

Howzat was launched in England in the past year and is expected to be piloted in a Scottish local authority next autumn.

Mr Kennedy concedes that the difficulty is persuading schools to take it on board when other sports have similar packages to offer.

“I think our main hope is to get a local authority where cricket is strong to take it up and perhaps run a pilot programme for two years,” he admits.

“We also need to try to get the independent schools on board with what we are doing, so that we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet. They are still very much doing their own thing, which is great but it has not changed much historically.”