The SNCL Premiership table makes pretty grim reading for cricket aficionados in the Greater Glasgow area.
Even with the vagaries of the climate -- Forfarshire, for instance, have played only five matches, half as many as Dunfermline Knights -- the standings testify to the balance of power shifting towards Edinburgh and the north.
There is only one Glasgow club, Clydesdale, in the top 10, and they are in seventh position, while the likes of Uddingston, West of Scotland, Greenock and Drumpellier are perilously placed towards the bottom of the division.
Some people believe this is merely a cyclical trend, but Ricky Bawa, the Uddingston captain, isn’t among them. On the contrary, he thinks the present scenario hints at serious issues which require addressing and he put his argument forcibly to Herald Sport.
“There are basically three ‘super teams’ in the east -- Carlton, Grange and Watsonians. All these teams have benefited from mass player movement and the large number of private schools in Edinburgh.
When all these clubs are at full strength, Watsonians have one player, who played youth cricket there, Carlton have three, and Grange none. Heriot’s are a decent side, but nothing special, while the rest of the teams from the east are very ordinary,” said Bawa, who sees a similar development unfolding in the north.
“The three ‘super teams’ up there are Forfarshire, Aberdeenshire and Arbroath United. These clubs benefit from being able to get players from a wide geographical area and they all have good kids’ sections. The rest of the teams from the north are very average.
“There are 13 clubs in the SNCL from the West [out of a tally of 31]. Most of these are bunched at the bottom of the Premiership and the top of the Championship. The talent is more evenly spread across these clubs and there is less player movement. But cricket in the West is struggling, in terms of encouraging youngsters into the sport. Cricket is not on the curriculum in [many] state schools, so basically, unless you are of Asian descent or have a parent who is keen on the game, it is unlikely you will play cricket ahead of other more ‘fashionable’ sports.
“Also, the weather has played a big part this season with very few matches completed in the west. The 16-team league also creates a lot of anomalies, because you don’t play teams home and away. You could end up playing four games against the worst sides and miss the big teams and hence win the league.”
Bawa’s point about how the other regions in Scotland are concentrating their best resources into fewer and fewer clubs, suggests we are edging towards a district structure in Scotland, which might assist the elite performers, but could dent the clubs’ aspirations.
For those who follow rugby, this sounds horribly familiar, but it may be that Glasgow’s cricket organisations have to ask themselves whether they need to start pooling their best players. Otherwise, they could be left trailing behind their opponents elsewhere in their homeland.
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