Scotland international women cricketers to get maiden paid contracts

Edinburgh [Scotland], November 17 (ANI): Cricket Scotland announced a number of significant changes in strategy on Thursday that will underpin long-term success for the international teams and deliver a more sustainable governing body in the years ahead.
For the first time, paid contracts will be offered to women's international team players. This builds on the move to pay equal match fees to the men's and women's players introduced in 2021 and will enable a number of players to devote more time to training and practice and is a start to putting the women's game onto a full professional footing as read in a statement released by Scotland Cricket.
Cricket Scotland also announced a refocus on strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and other support services provision. The governing body is in discussions with the sport Scotland institute of sport to explore how the performance programme can be further supported.
As a result, seven contracted staff in these areas will not have their contracts renewed at the end of this year and Cricket Scotland will reluctantly have to make up to three permanent staff roles redundant. The changes are required to refocus the governing body's priorities and to establish a strong financial base from which to launch an ambitious new strategy for the sport in the coming months.
As part of the reset, Cricket Scotland will also now recruit a number of key positions to rebuild resilience in the governing body and support the delivery of key changes highlighted in the Changing the Boundaries report including a Head of Communications, an EDI Manager and a Conduct in Sports Manager, as well as contracting external HR support to ensure the highest standards of people management and support are in place for all staff.
Cricket Scotland also announced that the current Interim Chief Executive, Gordon Arthur, will remain in position until November 2023 on a fixed-term contract, to ensure stability and continuity during this period of substantial restructuring. A recruitment process for a permanent Chief Executive will take place next year when the organisation has been strengthened.
Cricket Scotland is currently developing an exciting new five-year strategy for the sport which it plans to publish in early 2023. This strategy will recognise the need to reinvigorate relationships at a grassroots level, in particular the five regions and clubs to ensure that all aspects of the sport are properly supported and delivered to the highest standards, in line with its commitment to making cricket the most inclusive and welcoming sport in Scotland.
Chair of Cricket Scotland, Anjan Luthra, said, "This a watershed moment for the sport of cricket in Scotland. The investment announced today into the women's game is an important building block in our desire to make cricket in Scotland a fully inclusive sport where there is no place for racism, discrimination or inequalities."
"We have an opportunity to create a bold new vision for our Scottish cricket and we are committed to doing so by driving positive change at every level within our sport. At the same time, we are rebuilding capacity within the governing body and addressing the weaknesses and failings identified through the Changing the Boundaries report so that we build a first-class governing body for Scottish cricket," she added.
Chief Executive of Cricket Scotland, Gordon Arthur, said, "We need to reset and rebuild to ensure that we are in the strongest possible position to deliver real and meaningful change across Scottish cricket. This won't be without challenges but we have a great opportunity to take the sport confidently forward in the years ahead."
"I would like to thank all staff for their hard work and contribution to the sport during this difficult period. I understand that this will be an uncertain period for many staff but we will do everything we can to support them at this time," he added. (ANI)