New Scotland chief executive named
Roddy Smith will replace Gwynne Jones as Cricket Scotland's chief executive
Wisden Cricinfo staff
19-Jul-2005
Roddy Smith has been appointed as Cricket Scotland's chief executive. Smith, who has played for Scotland and Aberdeenshire, has more than a decade of administration and finance experience with sportscotland. He will replace the Zimbabwean Gwynne Jones.
Smith's priority will be to oversee Scotland's qualification for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. And he sounded an upbeat note about Scotland's chances of qualifying for the tournament, but said he was prepared to take the authorities on to negotiate the release of the four Scotland players who are currently employed in England.
"There is no way we can contemplate failure to qualify," he said. "It's an absolute necessity for the development of the game, and because of its importance we have to ensure we have our best players available. Discussions are already under way between the ECB, the ICC and the ECC [European Cricket Council]. We will do our own lobbying along with our Irish counterparts, who are in a similar position with county-based players."
Providing the Scottish Saltires with the best possible chance to compete in the National League is another challenge Smith faces ahead of the Saltires' final season of their three-year trial in the one-day league. But he also highlighted his aim to make grass-roots cricket a priority, which will be a balancing act for him.
"We have to improve the infrastructure of the game," he said, "and ensure that it is the clubs which drive what we are doing, but there is a difficult gulf to be bridged."