Saltires to host week of cricket in capital

THE Scottish Saltires, supported by Lloyds TSB Scotland, will play no fewer than eight representative matches in less than a month when the season starts in April. While their first four games in the Friends Provident Trophy will all be down south, they will then host four matches at the Citylets Grange in Edinburgh in what will be billed as a "cricket week."

Announcing their domestic fixture schedule for the 2009 season, the England and Wales Cricket Board unveiled a compacted schedule of FP Trophy fixtures, to create space for the ICC World Twenty20 Championships being staged in London in June.

Scotland's representative season starts with four away FP Trophy matches, against Middlesex at Lord's (26 April), Warwickshire at Edgbaston (3 May), Kent at Canterbury (4 May) and Somerset at Taunton (11 May). The return matches will be played in Edinburgh on 14, 16, 18 and 20 May.

Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, said: "We had planned to take some of these games around the country, but the logistics are impossible. However, having four games in seven days in one venue will allow us to promote a 'cricket week' atmosphere at Citylets Grange, which may attract more spectators than usual."

Cricket Scotland also revealed its plans for other major representative games next season. Two ICC Intercontinental Cup games, against Canada in July and Ireland in August, will both be staged at the Citylets Mannofield ground in Aberdeen, along with two associated one-day internationals against the same teams.

"Mannofield staged its first ODIs last year and Cricket Scotland wishes to stage more of these important games at this venue in 2009," said Smith. "But the Ireland and Canada fixtures are provisional, subject to results in the ICC World Cup Qualifier in April (in South Africa], which will determine which countries will be awarded ODI accreditation and take part in the 2009/10 Intercontinental Cup competition."

Finally, the expanding list of Scotland Lions fixtures, details of which will be confirmed in due course, will include a three-day match against the MCC in Scotland, three one-day games in Scotland against England Under 19s, six games against English County 2nd XIs, two of which will be the first to be held in Scotland, and the European A Championships at the end of the season.