Western District Cricket Union

Welcome to the Western District Cricket Union website.  The Union organises and promotes cricket to half the population of Scotland, from Dumfries & Galloway in the south-west, up the west coast, and across the central belt to the Forth Valley.  We co-ordinate with the West District Junior Cricket Union, local authorities and Cricket Scotland to encourage youth development and provide a structured developmental pathway with the aim of allowing the game to flourish and grow at all levels.  From the Premier Division to the Greenwood Trophy, the Union provides competitions for all its member clubs, from 50-over Saturday cricket to competitive T20 competitions.

Latest news and notices

  • WDCU Saturday League Fixtures 2021 (15th April 2021)

    Please see note sent to club contacts this morning from CMC Chairman Duncan Paterson:

    Hi everyone,
    Please find attached the Saturday league fixtures for season 2021.

    The season will run from Saturday 22nd May to Saturday 18th September dependent on Scottish Government and Cricket Scotland  Covid 19 regulations. Should there be changes to regulations that impede the completion of the scheduled fixtures, the CMC may have to alter, suspend or cancel the league season. This may also, as per the amended regulations for 2021 previously sent, lead to the suspension of promotion and relegation.
    Compiling the fixtures for 2021 season has been a difficult task due, not only to the delay to the season and the challenges posed by the current Covid-19 pandemic, but also to an unprecedented amount of ground availability issues, coupled with the late withdrawal of 3 teams from the Saturday league structure.
    In order to give every team the most amount of meaningful cricket possible, the CMC has merged Divisions 3 and 4 into one division of 14 teams. Despite the challenges, we have prepared a season comprising of 15 fixtures for all clubs in that division over the 18 week season.
    All other divisions will compete in a 10 team 18 week league season.
    Due to the many ground availability issues, it has been unavoidable that some fixtures are scheduled on a Sunday and, although this is not ideal, we have had no choice this year. We have kept it to the minimum possible amount and, at present, it only affects certain second elevens.
    The CMC would like to thank David Sturgeon for his assistance in drawing up the fixtures. Should any club have any further issues with ground availability or their ability to complete their scheduled fixtures, they are asked to get in touch with the administrator as soon as possible.
    Kind regards Duncan.
  • WDCU Sunday, Evening League and Cup competition – schedules (15th April 2021)

    Please see note that went to all club contacts this morning:

    Good morning,
    This is a note to inform you that the above fixtures are now available in the Document Centre on the WDCU website.
    League and cup fixtures – Western District Cricket Union (wdcu.co.uk)
    The Saturday League fixtures will be uploaded shortly along with the updated Saturday League Regulations document for 2021 and two messages from the CMC Chairman Duncan Paterson.
    Please let me know as soon as possible if there are any scheduling errors with the fixtures
    Iain
  • CS Update – New West Regional Development Officer – Nathan Allison (14th April 2021)

    Please see note  from Cricket Scotland introducing a number of new development posts:

    We are delighted to announce that this week, three new staff have started in their roles to provide support to clubs and development groups in the coming six months:

    Caitlin Ormiston, Development Coordinator caitlinormiston@cricketscotland.com   07889 596859 Caitlin will be providing administrative support for all Development Programmes. Please note that all support for domestic/adult club cricket has moved to the Operations Team lead by Paul Macari.

    Blair Carnegie, Regional Development Officer – Central  (covering Dundee & Angus, Fife and Forth Valley) blaircarnegie@cricketscotland.com 07889 596861

    Nathan Allison, Regional Development Officer – West nathanallison@cricketscotland.com   07889 596858

    Blair and Nathan are the local point of contact for CS support for all junior cricket programmes and formats, women and girls’ cricket (with Rosy Ryan), workforce development (with David Bordes), community engagement (with Ammar Ashraf) and disability cricket (with Barry McGeachy). Both Blair and Nathan have large geographical areas to cover, so they will not be in a position to deliver regular (taster) sessions at schools, but they will be able to support any club/community coaches that are doing school delivery and provide that important link between clubs, communities and governing body.

    Support for clubs in the North and North-East remains in place with

    Alex Green, Regional Development Officer – Highlands (incl Moray) alexgreen@cricketscotland.com  07889 594242

    Tony McKenna, Regional Development Officer-Aberdeen City and shire anthonymckenna@cricketscotland.com 07889 594232

    Support for clubs in the Perth & Kinross area remains in place in partnership with LiveActive:

    Richard Rennie, Development Officer Perth & Kinross rrennie@liveactive.co.uk  07703 023905

    We hope to appoint a RDO for the East region in the coming weeks.

  • Cricket Scotland – Information update for Clubs (14th April 2021)

    Please see most recent communication from CS

    1   Duke of Edinburgh Funeral

    Following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the national mourning guidance sets out that it is for individual organisations to decide on the most appropriate response. The guidance from Scottish Government can be found here https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-duke-of-edinburgh-mourning-guidance/

    In line with the UK Government, Scottish Government ask that sports avoid activity between 2 and 5pm on Sat April 17, when the funeral is scheduled to take place, however there is some uncertainty about how long the funeral will last.

    2          Travel Guidance from Friday 16 April

    From Friday, some travel restrictions will be relaxed to allow travel across Scotland for the purposes of meeting outdoors with friends and family. This will allow travel for informal physical activity, but not for organised sport. Travel restrictions for wider purposes – including organised sport, leisure, shopping, visiting hospitality premises or staying in tourist accommodation – will remain until 26 April, as originally planned, when all travel restrictions within Scotland will be lifted.

  • Ayr CC – Working to obtain a new indoor training facility (2nd April 2021)

    Please see below a letter from the club to raise support for this venture. Please get involved and help if you can.

  • WDCU club information update, 26 March 2021 (26th March 2021)

    Please see an update sent to club contacts this morning:

    Hi, and good morning,

    Please find below an update from the WDCU.

    The WDCU remains hopeful that we can have as full and meaningful a cricket season as possible. We are currently waiting on the most up to date guidance from Cricket Scotland and sportscotland to help shape our plans. This is expected in the very near future.

    I am sorry to inform you that very recently St. Michael’s CC intimated that they will not compete in the WDCU league this year and also that Clydesdale CC will only field three Saturday teams.  This has meant our planning for the year has had to be reviewed and final league structures are being amended.

    Could I ask all clubs with outstanding ground issues, or other issues of concern, to communicate with the WDCU as early as possible.

    Please remember we are still taking ball orders for the season ahead, and should you wish to take advantage of this offer please place an order as soon as possible.

    Could I also remind you that your subscription is due by the 31st of March if you haven’t paid it already.

    Finally those that haven’t updated their club contacts for the year, could you please do so as possible.

    As things are moving at a pace just now I would anticipate providing more regular updates between now and the start of the season.

    Iain Kennedy
    WDCU Administrator

  • Renfrew CC – Head Coach opportunity, 2021 (25th March 2021)

    Renfrew CC are on the lookout for a Head Coach for the upcoming season. Please see link below for more information.

    Renfrew CC Head Coach vacancy

  • Introduction to Cricket Coaching courses (18th March 2021)

    Cricket Scotland is holding Introduction to Coaching Cricket Courses in late March and early April.  If you are interested in starting your coaching journey please see the details in the link below.

    Link

  • WDCU club information update, 18 March 2021 (18th March 2021)

    Please see a note sent to all club contacts this morning:

    Just a note to say that the WDCU was pleased to hear the recent lockdown easing steps planned by the Government. We are now optimistic that we will be able to organise meaningful competitive cricket sometime this summer.

    We await further guidance from sportscotland and Cricket Scotland to assist us with our planning.

    I will keep you up to date with progress on this matter.

    Iain Kennedy
    WDCU Administrator

  • Return to cricket – Cricket Scotland message, 12 March 2021 (12th March 2021)

    Please see most recent update regarding a safe return to cricket from Cricket Scotland.

    Morning all.

    A bit of good news on a Friday – following the Scottish Government announcement on 9th March, the key changes permitted for outdoor sport and exercise come into effect today, Friday 12th March.

    The key changes for cricket activity concerns adults (18+) youth (12 and over) and juniors (Under 12).

    1         Outdoor sport and group exercise – 12 and over

    Up to 15 people can take part in outdoor non-contact sport or exercise (training or intra-club competition). This number includes coaches.

    2        Outdoor sport and group exercise – Under 12

    Up to 30 juniors can take part in outdoor non-contact sport or exercise (training or intra-club competition). This number includes coaches.

    3        Travel restrictions

    People should stay as close to home as possible, in line with current travel restrictions, however some flexibility will be given to under 18s allowing parents to drive under 18s outside their local area for their regular organised group activity. Adults must stay within their own local area.

    Please note that restrictions remain and risk mitigation continues to be paramount in the opening of club cricket – for full guidance please visit the Cricket Scotland COVID-19 page here.

    Iain Kennedy
    WDCU Administrator