Top Scottish club faces bleak future

While Scotland prepare to play in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, news comes of the possible demise of one of the country's oldest and most prestigious clubs. Perth CC, which boasts Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer among former players, is set to wind up.

Founded in 1826, the club was at the forefront of Scottish cricket for many years, but according to a report in the Scotsman it has not got enough players to raise even one XI and its facilities have been repeatedly vandalized.

"There is every chance we will go down the tubes, secretary and captain Graham Ferguson told the newspaper. "There's no point in kidding ourselves we can continue on that basis.

"This isn't something that has happened overnight, but we have lost 11 or 12 of our first-team players to other clubs, our facilities are sub-standard, our membership doesn't seem to want to get involved in the day-to-day running of the place and we are simply not functioning as a club, where there is any chance of keeping things going 10, 20 years from now."

"We have looked at all the alternatives, and we are very sad to be in this position, but placing the club into abeyance, prior to the 2009 season, is firmly back on the agenda, and if the response isn't there, we will have to wind things up."