Glenrothes Cricket Club looking at dropping two or three divisions

Chairman Kenny Crichton held crunch talks with committee members last Wednesday to discuss the club’s options following the first team’s relegation from Scottish cricket’s top flight after losing all their games this season.

The chairman said members voted for the club to “drop down two or three divisions” and begin a rebuilding project, but the final decision rests with league officials.

Crichton stressed that no final decision has been made by members themselves, but the club will hold their AGM in October where they will vote on the options put forward at last Wednesday’s meeting which was attended by around 60 to 80 people.

He said: “The meeting was well attended and I was quietly surprised by the amount of people that were there.

“There are a couple of options on the table, one of them is to have the first team playing at the highest level possible which would be the Championship but the members voted that we should drop down two or three divisions and try to rebuild. I feel that is the right direction for the club to go.”

Crichton spoke of the increasing financial struggles which the club face but stressed that the future was bright with a new clubhouse being hopefully finished by December.

He said: “We are not in a bad position financially but the amount of money we have to put into the first team squad is not right at this time for the club.

“Glenrothes cricketer Safyaan Sharif has had the biggest year of his life, but it has brought us nothing although he has been away playing T20 for Derbyshire.

“You get no financial income for finishing first or second in the league, it is getting harder to find sponsors and finance. We have been at the highest level in Scottish cricket but in the town itself we have seen nothing. I bet if Glenrothes Juniors were to get to a Scottish Cup final their attendance would increase.

“I think it is the sport itself. We have to appreciate there’s a lot going on in the town. We have only been going for 16 years, the biggest challenge for us is not having a clubhouse. But that is now being built and that is a facility which will benefit family and partners. I don’t see us struggling.

“The members that attended the meeting are parish members and had opted not to play because the level was too great for them.

“I’m not saying that two years down the line we will have three teams, but we will have a bit more consistency and be where we were three or four years ago.”