SACA graduate Adil Ghaffar to tour Caribbean with Scotland

GEORGE DOBELL: Ghaffar has been picked in Scotland's squad for the trip, while fellow SACA graduate Ibrahim Faisal has joined Warwickshire's academy

Just months after Scottish cricket was branded "institutionally racist", a partnership with the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) is reaping rewards.

A report from by consultancy firm Plan4Sport last July suggested Cricket Scotland failed on 29 of 31 indicators measuring the presence of institutional racism. It led to the entire board of Cricket Scotland resigning.

But a relatively small investment of £5,000 in the SACA scheme has already led to two coaches gaining jobs with the national pathway, one player winning international recognition and another signing with Warwickshire's academy.

Adil Ghaffar has been selected in the Scotland side to play regional cricket in the Caribbean in the coming weeks and Ibrahim Faisal has joined the Warwickshire academy.

Ibrahim has raised eyebrows in recent days when bowling at Edgbaston. Aged 17, he is already bowling at speeds similar to those in the first team squad.

^{The South Asian Cricket Academy continues to produce players (Image: SACA)}

Meanwhile, coaches Sai Majeed and Usman Saeed (a former first-class cricketer in Pakistan) have been appointed as Scotland U17 head coach and Scotland U15 assistant coach respectively.

The SACA programme in England continues to go from strength to strength. At present six people, four players and two coaches, have gone through the system and signed professional contracts with counties. Five other players are starting the season as trialists with first-class counties.

One of them, Zaman Akhter, is understood to be of interest to half-a-dozen counties. Blessed with height, pace and obvious athleticism (he has played hockey at International level), it is not hard to see why.

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