Sportscotland has awarded Cricket Scotland a £415,320 grant to help develop the sport in the region.

The funding is part of an investment package for the sport which includes support services from the Scottish Institute of Sport, the high-performance arm of sportscotland.

The sportscotland investment is also designed to support Cricket Scotland’s drive to nurture the next generation of cricketing talent.

According to Cricket Scotland figures, 18,000 children were introduced to the sport by primary school teachers during 2008 – an increase of 10 per cent on 2007 figures.

As part of the national governing body's strategy to capitalise on the increasing number of children taking up the sport, Cricket Scotland has set up five regional academies to help support player progression from school participation to club level and beyond.

Welcoming the investment, Roddy Smith, Chief Executive of Cricket Scotland said: "The investment from sportscotland is crucial in our work to grow participation throughout Scotland and to improve the performances of our national male and female cricketers."

Cricket Scotland recently scooped the International Cricket Council (Europe) award for best overall cricket development programme, recognising their efforts to grow the game among children and at community level.