Glenrothes to merge cricket teams

After full club consultation the club have withdrawn their second XI from the East of Scotland Cricket Association (ESCA) fourth division to join the third team in sixth division, making a new second XI.

A statement on the club website said: “As a club we have a commitment to our players to provide them with a standard of cricket that best suits their ability and importantly where all players can enjoy playing at that level.

“By essentially dropping our twos down two divisions we have the opportunity to promote the more able second team players into the first team when required and have a team in Division 6 that will hopefully be more competitive.

“The last few seasons have seen a number of our players move on to University, take up new jobs and many who have just retired from the game.

"Despite a successful Gladiators programme where we regularly see upwards of 80 children taking part in cricket and other sports we are a long way from converting these enthusiastic youngsters into viable teenage/adult cricketers. But this will happen over time.”

The club said issues in attracting and retaining members was largely down to delays in the clubhouse project being built.

The statement continued: “Many clubs face similar problems in attracting new and retaining existing players but the decline in members at Glenrothes can be largely attributed to the continued delay in getting the Gilvenbank Hub clubhouse built.

“If this facility had been complete we would not now be in this position. Hopefully any lingering planning issues can be resolved quickly to get the facility completed early this season so we can work towards attracting members back to the club.”