Around Scotland November
Perth-fect start for Leigh
Only weeks into her six month stint down under, new Western Fury recruit and Scotland internationalist Leigh Kasperek shone on debut, scoring 43 against NSW Breakers.
The talented 19-year-old made the move to Perth in September to help progress her cricket skills, with the eventual goal of breaking into the first division county cricket competition.
Having impressed with the bat for premier club side, Midland-Guilford, notably a score of 93*, she was called up to the state-team Western Fury where she hit 43 batting at number three in a 50 over match against the New South Wales Breakers who had a number of Australian internationalists in their ranks, such as Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Lisa Sthalekar, Sarah Coyte, Sharon Millanta, Rachael Haynes and Leah Poulton.
Wildcats coach, Kari Carswell commented, “It’s a fantastic opportunity that Leigh has forged for herself, going overseas and getting an opportunity to play some top level cricket is an opportunity of a lifetime. I’m expecting her to come back with lots of ideas and experiences that she can share with our girls. She has made a good start in club and state cricket and we are delighted with her progress.”
Teaching the Teachers
Over 100 trainee-PE Teachers at the University of Edinburgh have completed a four-week module in delivering cricket in schools.
Under the guidance of the Cricket Scotland coaching staff, the first-year students were able to demonstrate the basic skills of batting, bowling and fielding and running exciting kwik cricket games to encourage the inclusion of cricket in curricular PE.
In its third year, the partnership between Cricket Scotland and the University of Edinburgh has produced over 250 teachers with the ability and confidence to provide cricket in primary and secondary school across Scotland.
Coach and Umpire Development
There are a small number of places available in Cricket Scotland’s November education programme, book now to avoid disappointment.
Umpiring
Cricket Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Cricket Officials Association will be running a Level One Umpire course at Clydesdale CC on Thursday evenings starting 19th January until 23rd February from 7.30 - 930pm, with the examination on 8th March at the same time.
The course is designed for people who intend to umpire on a regular basis and will cover the laws concerning one day games. Attendance is free, as is the first year’s membership to ECB ACO.
Please register with Billy McPate at billy.mcpate@virginmedia.com
This course is designed for those who wish to umpire seriously; other courses will be held after Christmas, will be at a more introductory level and will last for one evening.
Coaching
The UKCC 2 course in Glasgow will enable those wanting to coach children and young players with the skills and knowledge to do so.
Venue - St Thomas Aquinas RC Secondary School, 112 Mitre Road, Glasgow G14 9PP
Dates Activity Times
Saturday 12 November 2011 Modules 1 & 2 10.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday 13 November 2011 Modules 3 & 4 10.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday 26 November 2011 Modules 5 & 6 10.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday 27 November 2011 Modules 7 & 8 10.00am - 5.00pm
Booking onto this course can be made via the Cricket Scotland Shop.
Putting the Hart and Shaw into Developing Cricket
On 1 September, Tim Hart and Ian Shaw took up post as Community Development Manager for West and Central, Angus, Fife and Dundee regions respectively. Both have been working non-stop putting in the miles to meet with their local networks of clubs, area groups and other organisations in their quest to keep the community game thriving.
In the West region, Tim has been working on a number of exciting new projects, along with organising and managing the West Regional Development Centre trials- an event which saw 40 aspiring young cricketers from the region tested over three sessions.
Enjoying the challenges and rewards his role brings, Tim says, “the first two months have been very enjoyable - enabling me to get out and about, see some new faces and to meet some people who I knew, both on and off the pitch from previous roles with the region. My main focus at the moment is trying to meet with all my area groups on a regular basis, as well as beginning the process of going to visit as many of the clubs as possible.
There is plenty of challenges that lie ahead and I look forward to working with all partners in the region to help to drive cricket forward in the west of Scotland”
Tim can be contacted by email at timhart@cricketscotland.com or by phone 07825 172 346.
Meanwhile, Ian Shaw, Community Development Manager in the Central, Angus, 
Fife and Dundee region has been busy meeting with his local volunteers, clubs and area groups assessing the current status and identifying and working to achieve the goals within the club and area.
One exciting project Ian has been working on is with the local development group in the Dundee area. The group is working towards achieving charitable status as a trust which will open up many new funding avenues to help fund development projects in the area.
Speaking about his role, Ian says, “It has been a really exciting time meeting the volunteers, clubs and development groups working in this area. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better in the weeks to come and working with them to make an impact in the Central, Angus, Fife and Dundee area.”
Ian can be contacted by email at ianshaw@cricketscotland.com or by phone 07825 172 344.
New Women’s Clubs in the West
Women’s cricket in Scotland continues to grow with two new clubs formed in the West region; Galloway Ladies and Glasgow University Women.
Glasgow University
Following the success at Edinburgh and St Andrew’s University, Scottish Wildcats all-rounder Sam Haggo, who is in her first year of study at Glasgow University, decided to take the reigns and form a new women’s section at the university’s cricket club.
With the backing of the club captain, the club committee and Cricket Scotland’s Girls’ and Women’s Cricket Manager Kari Carswell, the girls have been training weekly on Monday evenings with the aim to play in at least one of the remaining women’s six-a-side indoor tournaments in 2011/12 and eventually the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) Cricket Leagues.
Overwhelmed by the support from the men’s cricket team, Sam comments, “When I started studying at the University of Glasgow last year I immediately joined the cricket club, but (sadly) I was the only girl. I pushed the message to the Club Captain that I saw the need for a women's club to follow the likes of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and he agreed with me. I hope that in a few years, Glasgow University will have a strong, promising squad of girls who can rival the other Scottish universities - that is the dream.”
Galloway Ladies
What started as friendly banter between the mums and girlfriends has transformed into Galloway Cricket Club’s first ever ladies cricket team. Responsible for the formation of the ladies section is Mary Hughes, a netball and cricket coach who is also a familiar face in Galloway’s school network, organising and delivering cricket to local school children.
Mary, whose hard work was recognised by Dumfries and Galloway’s Sports Council, was awarded Coach of the Year Award in her area.
The club, who enjoyed their first summer, are looking forward to their first winter indoor season where they aim to enter a team in at least one of the indoor festivals run by Cricket Scotland.
The ladies train on Wednesday evenings from 6-7pm at Kirkcudbright Academy. Mary leads the session and all equipment is provided by the club (they recently received a kit bag from Lady Taverners). The sessions are open to players of all ages and abilities. For more information please contact Mary mary.m.gavin@btopenworld.com
Supporting both clubs, Kari Carswell, Girls’ and Women’s Cricket Manager says, “To develop the game of course we need more clubs and we need to provide more opportunities for girls and women to play cricket so the progress made at Galloway Cricket Club and latterly Glasgow University is very beneficial for the game. Cricket Scotland will continue to support new clubs that are starting from scratch and we hope to be able to provide a strong sustainable network of clubs and encourage all clubs, schools and universities to participate in the indoor competitions and the newly formed National League and Scottish Cup competitions.”
New Scotland Women’s U17 Logo
Congratulations to Poppy McGowan winner of the Scotland Women’s U17 logo design competition. Poppy will be presented a cricket bat signed by the Australian cricket team by Scotland captain, Gordon Drummond, later this month.
Well done Poppy and thank you to everyone who entered the competition.
Congratulations Kari
Cricket Scotland would like to congratulate Women’s and Girls Development Manager, Kari Carswell (formally Anderson) on her recent marriage to Andy Carswell. The wedding took place at Stirling Cricket Club where both Kari and Andy play their cricket, they were also joined by a number of the women’s squad to celebrate their big day. Well done Kari and Andy.
