Cricket: Kirsteen Ross interview

May 21 2010 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A NEWLY-APPOINTED sporting figurehead has said she plans to hold talks to revive the now-mothballed Perth County Cricket Club.

The North Inch club’s senior side slipped into abeyance last year after 183 years.

In its heyday, the Fair City side won nine Scottish Counties titles in a successful 11-year spell, but now the famous name is only attached to a junior section.

But Kirsteen Ross, the new cricket development officer for Perth and Kinross, told PA Sport yesterday that breathing new life into the ailing institution is one of a number of projects she hopes to get off the ground.

She said: “It was very sad to see such a famous name go into abeyance last year. I’m planning to hold talks with their former players, some of whom play for the Perth Mayfield club now, and see what we can do.”

The Kinross-based official, who took up her new post at the start of May and will report to Perth and Kinross Leisure, continued by saying she wants as many people playing the increasingly-popular sport as possible – as well as enhancing the number of local coaches and facilities.

She said: “My whole family has been involved in cricket for a long time, including my two sons, who play at international level.

“One of my main goals is to introduce the sport to children and adults alike who have never tried it before.

“Cricket is a sport that appeals to people for a number of reasons, when you are fielding the emphasis is very much on sticking together.

“But then, once you are at the crease and batting, you have to be single-minded to a certain extent, so there’s a mix.

“I want to try and make it possible for anyone who wants to be the next Andrew Flintoff or Charlotte Edwards, who is the captain of the English World Cup-winning women’s side, to be able to fulfil their dreams.”

After five years nurturing talent in Kinross-shire, a total of 35 women and girls benefit from Kirsteen’s experience playing and coaching the local ladies’ side – the largest pool of female club players in Scotland.

And she plans to replicate that success across the whole of Perth and Kinross.

Kirsteen added: “There are 12 cricket clubs across the region at the moment, not all of them have junior and girls sections but that’s something I’m looking to expand on.

“I was at Perth Academy the other day and I noticed they have the old school’s cup in their trophy cabinet, it’s been a long time since anyone’s competed for that, or in a local league.

“A junior school’s league would be ideal, we have the facilities in place at the six new community campuses throughout the region.

“But it’s important any coaches looking to get involved in the sport are fully-qualified.

“Whenever I’m monitoring coaches I always stress that, when a parent drops-off their children, they are leaving you the most-prized thing in their life.”