Edinburgh South Cricket Club

Every wednesday at Inch Park.. Please see the 'Practice Sessions' link on the main page!

Yeah that's right, ESCC are street. It's where the kids are at and ESCC are there...

Search for ESCC on www.facebook.com to see what all the fuss is about, create your own profile and join us in organizing the social aspects of the club.

Alas, our very own joker in the pack and tormentor of good length bowling - Jack Alvin has decided to retire from the one day form of the game.

We wish him all the best in his retirement and hope to see him in the pub in the not so distant future.

As long as you're buying...

Following Pete's sartorial display in the early part of the season he has decided to launch his own line of cricket gear for nomadic cricketers from warmer climes. Check the Photo Gallery for details ...

Attached is the article from Edinburgh Evening News regarding the progress on the new ground. As you can see, our very own Bill Polson has his say on the matter!

MULTI SPORT DEVELOPMENT FOR INCH PARK EDGES A LITTLE CLOSER.

IT is appropriate that a jogging track is included in plans newly submitted for a £2 million multi-sports facility at Inch Park in South Edinburgh.

For, according to the project's driving force, Lismore Rugby Club, it has been a marathon effort to reach the stage where, with approval in principle already granted, bulldozers may soon lurk on the periphery ready to move pending one more organisational hurdle.

Of course, nothing is being taken for granted but men like Malcolm Gillies, former Lismore president and recently-elected SRU Council member with a remit to sit on the Six Nations Championship committee, are too shrewd to allow their names to be added to a media statement claiming "negotiations are currently underway to put a lease in place following which construction can commence."

Lismore rugby club, founded in 1901, run three men's teams and a women's team (established in 1994), and were the first Scottish rugby club to make their women players full members.

While football and cricket can also benefit, it is Lismore who have been the driving force as confirmed by Gillies, the project co-ordinator. He said: "If it seems that eight changing rooms, new pitches and social facilities in a clubhouse sunk into the ground and featuring a turf roof in order to minimise environmental impact is a lot for our money then plenty self help is involved."

The state-of-the-art clubhouse is to be built at the Gilmerton Road area of the park, away from views from the A-listed Inch House building. The scheme will feature three football pitches, two rugby pitches and a cricket square. Apart from Lismore RFC itself, the other beneficiaries are City of Edinburgh Athletics Club, Edinburgh South Cricket Club and South Edinburgh Football Club.

"This has been a decade in the planning but, hopefully, by February the first sod could be cut. The fact that architects, surveyors and others at Lismore have given their services willingly is partly what club rugby is all about. From our point of view, Lismore need to put an end to a nomadic existence. Since previous changing facilities were vandalised in 2006 we have had to play on other grounds, apart from a spell when the footballers vacated their changing rooms at Inch House.

"Soon our club can get on with building a base from which we can introduce more youngsters to the sport and begin progressing from our position in National League Division Three."

The building blocks for youth development are already in place with two development officers employed under the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) scheme to visit local schools spreading the oval ball message.

"Our plans were hatched long before the fire that destroyed our previous facilities," Gillies added. "I stress that this is a multi-sport development and I am confident rugby is secure enough to welcome other activities on board. In the North of Edinburgh there is a superb youth scheme involving Edinburgh Accies, Broughton and Trinity Accies. Similarly, Forrester are doing a great job to the west in developing talent. There is a void to be filled in South East Edinburgh and logic demands we take up that challenge while being aware that youngsters have to be sold on the idea of sport.

"There is no compulsion on them to participate. Rugby has to sell itself. Where Lismore do claim success is in meeting all the criteria for the Council's targets as set out in their sports strategies."

It is understood a sum of £100,000 has been allocated from the local authority and while some might regard this as parsimonious Gillies isn't complaining. Far from it. "We realise money is tight," he said.

"The project has full support from the SRU, SFA, Scottish Athletics and Scottish Cricket, and Sportscotland, who are delighted to see a multi-sport facility become established at Inch Park.

"The days of being able to provide a facility for a single sport are long gone and we have modelled the scheme on Meggetland and Dunbar's excellent Hallhill."

The message is that a sporting dream is one step away from being fulfilled and Lismore, committed now to a period of lobbying public representatives, are particularly hopeful of securing their support for a leasehold.

The club are understood to be the longest existing tenants of a council ground in Edinburgh, having moved to Inch Park more than 50 years ago.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh South cricket spokesman Bill Polson, said: "Lismore are to be congratulated on driving matters forward and keeping us informed about a project that should enable us to attract and retain players."

The following quotes have been extracted from local newspapers on the future of cricket at the Inch Park following the ruin of the pavilion in 2006.


Inch Park - 12 Sept.Evening News runs article headlined "New sports centre set to rise from ashes of pavilion blaze" . In the article Lismore Rugby are named as "being the spearhead of a £1.2 million scheme to share facilities at Inch Park with local cricket, hockey and football groups" There are supportive quotes from Councillor Bob Cairns, Parks Convener and Mike Pringle, Edinburgh South MSP. (Jim tells me that the article was later repeated in the South Edinburgh Echo)

9 Oct. Quote from Evening News leader page article by Donald Anderson, executive member for culture and leisure with Edinburgh City Council "For Inch Park we have allocated £100,000 to work with Lismore Rugby Club to provide replacement (and better) facilities for the sports pavilion that was recently burnt down."