Cricket Development Trust Scotland

Supporting Cricket in Scotland from the Grass Roots Up

20th October 2017

Keith Oliver OBE takes over as Chair of CDTS and New Trustees appointed »

Keith Oliver OBE has recently been appointed as the new Chairman of The Cricket Development Trust Scotland Ltd. 

Keith is very well known in Scottish cricketing circles and beyond being a lifelong lover of cricket. He held the role as Chairman of Cricket Scotland for thirteen years from 2002 to 2015 and during his tenure he oversaw the national side become fully professionalised and the governing body undertake major constitutional reform. Keith also served on the board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for four years where he joined as Executive Director in 2010.He served two terms on the ICC board representing a total of 95 associate and affiliate nations. He is also a past Chairman of Lords Taverners Scotland and an MCC member.

In the New Year's Honours List in 2014 Keith was awarded the OBE for services to cricket.

Keith takes over from Keith Young who remains as a Trustee and Financial Director.

The Trust is also pleased to welcome on board Alasdair Robinson. Ewan Gilchrist, Colin Mair and Rodger Cairns as new Trustees.

Alasdair has lived in Edinburgh for many years but is originally from the west where he played at Glasgow HS and West of Scotland CC.  He was fortunate that his years at West coincided with a golden era for the club and enabled him to learn from and play alongside a number of well-known internationals and coaches.  When he moved to Aberdeen to study, Alasdair became very involved in university cricket and still turns out for the Aberdeen University Alumni XI on its annual tour to Somerset.  His main interest and involvement with cricket now is at the grassroots level and he is now coaching children at Stewarts Melville.

Ewan was brought up in the Highlands in Nairn on the Moray Firth coast. Whilst there is a thriving cricket club in Nairn which is part of the North of Scotland Cricket Association.Whilst not having played cricket at any competitive level, Ewan has always been a keen follower of the game. As a youngster the dulcet tones of Jim Laker, Peter West, and Brian Johnston brought the heroics of Botham and Willis, Richards and Marshall to the Highlands. In more recent years, Ewan has regularly attended international matches at Lord's, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford and even Newlands in Cape Town.

Colin attended Kelvinside Academy, St Andrews and Glasgow Universities and Jordanhill College of Education. He initially played as an all-rounder for Dunbartonshire in the Scottish Counties before moving to West of Scotland in 1983 and also represented West District and Scotland B. He established and coached the Dunbartonshire Club Junior Section from 1972-76 and was Manager of the Scotland U15 Squad from 1994-98. He remains actively involved with the West of Scotland Club, where he is an Honorary Vice-President. Previously he represented Scotland B at rugby and played for a Scottish XV v Japan in 1977 Colin retired in August 2015 after 11 years as Rector of the High School of Glasgow.

Rodger is originally from Edinburgh and developed an early passion for cricket whilst at school, where he fulfilled the role of semi-reliable opening bat. His involvement with the game was placed in abeyance whilst studying for a law degree at the University of Aberdeen but was reignited when his son joined Clydesdale Cricket Club near to the family home in Glasgow. Shortly after beginning his coaching career, Rodger also dipped his toe back into the world of playing. However, he quickly realised that the game had moved on quite considerably since his school days (a target score of 20 runs off the first 20 overs of an innings apparently no longer being an acceptable scoring rate!) and so decided to call time on his career in the field.

Rodger is a qualified lawyer and is a partner in the Corporate Finance Department of Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP in Glasgow.