Look down under to raise standard

Source: Rampant Lion     Date: July 21, 2003

Cricket: Rahul Dravid says lessons must be learned from the masters and an inter-district tournament would be a good start. 

Starting out at base camp in the cricketing world can be a daunting experience. For years in many of the smaller countries, the sport has sauntered along, building up a lot of tradition and simultaneously producing people with an obvious passion and commitment to the game, yet taking the next step up the ladder can be a hazardous process.

During the past month, whilst travelling the length and breadth of Scotland, I’ve not only been surprised (albeit pleasantly) by the number of clubs there are in areas like Aberdeenshire – where you can hardly drive past a village without noticing the trim little squares and pavilions, next to the golf courses – but also left amazed at the fashion in which the Saltires’ achievements have caught the public’s imagin ation in so many different places.

Evidently, there is a growing feeling that Scotland can progress to the one-day international structure. You can sense it in the attitude of the little kids who have flocked to my masterclasses, and discern it in the philosophy of the teenagers, especially those in the under-17 squad who won the European Championship a fortnight ago. All of a sudden, the positive words and actions of prescient individuals such as Tony Judd and Craig Wright are reaping a rich harvest and the trick now is to keep that heady momentum going throughout the last month of the season as the various domestic competitions reach their climaxes.

One of the best means of raising one’s game is to learn from the masters and there’s no doubt the Australians are the best team in the world at the moment. It’s no secret that the green-and-gold juggernaut has swept all before it, because the Australians’ structure is intensely competitive, well thought-out and inherently logical. Expressed simply, their best players are pitted against each other on a regular basis, as members of a select group of states, and there are no easy hundreds or five-wicket hauls for the leading Aussies.

It helped, of course, that the ACB possessed the foresight to create a ground-breaking academy, whereas several other countries swithered about pursuing a similar course, and youngsters were plucked out of their school envir onment in their teens and offered every encouragement if they displayed the requisite talent and dedication. In basic terms, the Australian system thrives on the notion that the cream will rise to the top, and the greater the level of competition that exists for places, the better. They are past masters in the school of hard knocks.

Obviously, it wouldn’t do to over-emphasise any comparisons between the reigning world title-holders and Scotland, but my point is that if you get your youth system right and your fixture list right, then the chances are that your national team will thrive as well. Which brings me to my belief that Judd and the SCL chief executive, Gwynne Jones, are both correct to be calling for the urgent introduction of some kind of inter-district tournament as a means of raising standards in the run-up to the World Cup qualifying event in Ireland two years down the line, followed hopefully by Scotland’s participation in the full compet ition in the West Indies in 2007. I won’t pretend I’m an expert on the individual clubs within the SNCL, but when the plain-speaking Juddy commented recently that there wasn’t a sufficiently high-grade championship in Scotland, week in week out, it struck a chord with me.

You see, there isn’t one in Bang ladesh either, and that’s one of the reasons why the fledglings are finding life so difficult after being granted full Test status. It’s not enough simply to be flung into a baptism of fire and I have sympathy for the lads, who were defeated so heavily by Steve Waugh and his colleagues in Darwin last week. No, the bottom line is that the ICC have to actively assist the emerging nations by organising reciprocal A tours and the like, and the new kids have to help themselves too.

From my perspective, I just can’t envisage any disadvantages in the Scots establishing four or six senior regional squads and allowing those performers with genuine ambitions of playing for the Saltires an oppor t unity to stake their claim where it truly matters. I’ve been to the Borders and know they have clubs dating back to the 1820s and 1830s, but you wouldn’t damage these institutions by having a regional side pitted against one from Glasgow, another from Edinburgh, and perhaps the rest situated around Aberdeen, Dundee and Stirling.

Ultimately, as somebody who has marvelled at the ferocity in the youngsters’ eyes, whether at Fochabers, or Clydesdale, Gal ashiels or Grange, I have the feeling that a major change in the present structure is going to mat erialise, sooner rather than later, and from what I’ve heard, the ICC are in favour of fast-tracking one or two nations, so this is an ideal moment to make it happen and make it work.

I suppose that might explain why the winter may be as significant as the summer in deciding how quickly the Scots will move forward in future seasons.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As things stand, there is still plenty of scope for us to spark further shocks in the NCL and three matches in four days at the start of August will be a serious test of our mettle. Particularly since we recognise one or two of those talented young lads in their teens are plotting their own path to the Saltires summit.