Bowled out!
Top school drops game because it stumps youngsters... and summers are too wet
FOR more than a century it has featured on the sporting curriculum at one of Scotland’s upmarket private schools.
But pupils at Morrison’s Academy have now been left on a sticky wicket after the Perthshire school took cricket off the timetable.
Staff have ruled the game, enjoyed by 120million people worldwide, is too complicated to learn – and unsuitable for Scotland’s soggy summers.
News of the shock decision has been outlined in a letter to parents whose youngsters attend the £12,000-a-year school where Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor and Olympic curling star Eve Muirhead were once pupils.
Scott Weston, director of sport at the Crieff academy, said the move followed a review of summer games after his arrival last year from fee-paying Glasgow Academy.
He said: ‘After much deliberation and consultation with colleagues both in school and beyond, I have taken the decision to stop playing cricket from the end of this session.
‘The principal reasons behind this move are that the summer term is significantly shorter than when cricket was a major summer sport and there’s therefore appreciably less time to learn and play the game.’
Senior pupils had also to prepare for national exams, resulting in little time to practise cricket, far less play matches.
The sports boss added that the demise of the local cricket club in the Strathearn area of Perthshire, previously staunch supporters of the game at the school, had not helped either.
Blaming the summer weather, Mr Weston admitted soft, early season wickets did not make for a decent standard of play.
He continued: ‘Finally, cricket takes a long time to learn and many who join the school at Transitional (Primary 7) and above have no knowledge or experience of the game.
‘For those of you who have not played cricket, the game is of a highly technical nature and it requires a great deal of time to be dedicated to its development, and over a number of years, to make the necessary improvements and gain a suitable understanding of the tactics involved.’
The sports director said: ‘It is not lost on me that new forms of the game have an increasingly high profile internationally, but that doesn’t take account of the limitations of time and the challenges posed by the climate that the game faces here in Crieff and more generally across Scotland.’
Morrison’s pupils will now concentrate on tennis, athletics and other outdoor pursuits such as canoeing, mountain biking and mountaineering during the summer.
This would help ‘develop their skills in more individual activities’ and provide a more rounded exposure to sport.
During the winter they will play rugby while girls will be offered the option of hockey.
Yesterday, a Cricket Scotland spokesman voiced the body’s sadness over the news.
He said: ‘Obviously it is dis- appointing to hear when any club or school is struggling to continue the sport and as the governing body we fully support all schools and clubs in helping them to continue to play and grow the game.’
He insisted more people are playing cricket than ever, especially after recent social and cultural changes in the game.
Meanwhile, Marylebone Cricket Club in London – formerly the world governing body for the game, which formalised the rules – stressed cricket was an important sport for young people.
A spokesman said most youngsters quickly picked up the rules, adding: ‘Cricket is an inclusive and popular sport which develops leadership and teamwork skills in young boys and girls.’
‘Less time to learn game’