EDINBURGH — Scottish cricket faces an uncertain future on and off the field after failing to reach the 2019 World Cup, says chief executive Malcolm Cannon.
BBCSport
The Scots lost in controversial circumstances to the West Indies in a rain-affected match in Zimbabwe.
Cricket Scotland will now lose out on a reported £700 000 bonus in funding, while Cannon says he is “not sure” if some full-time contracts could be cut.
“It isn’t just financial implications,” Cannon told BBC Scotland.
“The opportunities to actually play cricket are reducing somewhat.
“The ICC don’t offer many opportunities to us, and going into a World Cup year, the teams we would like to play become very busy. So finding a window in their schedule is very tough.”
As things stand, Scotland have only a one-day international with England on 10 June and two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan — on 12 and 13 June — on their calendar this summer.
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“There is no actual cost because these are monies we never assumed we would have,” Cannon said.
“But it’s an opportunities cost. Obviously it would have been a big bonus had we got there — and I don’t mean player bonuses or payments.
“That would have enabled us to do other things and not just prepare for the World Cup, but also invest in grassroots cricket even more than we are doing currently.”
Scotland had come through the four-match group phase unbeaten, opening with a win over Afghanistan and closing with a dramatic tie against Zimbabwe.
The Super Six stage began with victory against the United Arab Emirates, but a damaging defeat by Ireland meant their final qualifier against the West Indies was a must-win game.
Scotland were on 125-5, chasing down the Windies’ total of 198 in Harare, when rain ended their pursuit, the Scots losing by five runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.
“It was in our hands and if we had been given that that opportunity to progress at the beginning, we would have bitten someone’s hand off,” Cannon said.
“We have been lobbying the ICC [International Cricket Council] for the last three years, telling them that [reducing the number of teams at the World Cup from 14 to 10] is a retrograde step for cricket globally.
“To reduce the number of teams —while World Cups in other sports are being increased — really sticks in the craw, especially given the fact that in mid-2017 they increased the number of full members from 10 to 12.
“So there are full-member countries missing out as well as what are deemed associate members like ourselves.”
