Ten years ago, it seemed that Scottish cricket might finally be making a serious breakthrough and preaching to the unconverted.

 

The national side, bolstered by the entrance of a team in the English county league, which brought regular jousts with professional teams and the chance to lock horns with many of the biggest names in the game, travelled to Ireland and demolished their Associate rivals in the ICC Trophy, winning all their matches and polishing off their triumph with a comprehensive win over the hosts in Dublin. At that stage, with qualification secured for the 2007 World Cup and a talented group of ambitious players performing in tandem, you might have supposed the sport could only move in one direction.

You would have been wrong.

Instead, a decade later, the Scots have gone backwards and cricket itself is facing a fresh battle for credibility across Caledonia. The Saltires are no longer part of any county tournament, the ICC's associate member nations are struggling to preserve their place in the global firmament and, whereas the Irish have made definite advances, both in beating elite nations and devising innovative plans off the pitch, Cricket Scotland seems to be stuck between Scylla and Charybdis.

The governing body last week confirmed that it was ditching its plans to move to Stirling, as part of a brand new facility and that was merely the latest setback in what has been a lengthy period of stagnation and procrastination from those tasked with developing the game. Tomorrow, Preston Mommsen's personnel will launch their Intercontinental Cup campaign - one which could see them gain an opening to compete on the Test stage in the future - against Afghanistan in Stirling, but only an optimist would predict there would be anything resembling an audience at the fixture. After all, it is scheduled to last for four days, and, on the evidence of the season so far, there is more chance of spectators catching hypothermia than a cricket bug loitering around New Williamfield.

Part of the problem lies in the lack of a long-term vision: a failing which has haunted other pursuits in this country. Following the departure of chief executive, Roddy Smith, who was hardly in the Edison stakes when it came to invention, Cricket Scotland has appointed an interim chief in ex-player Willie Donald and his options are obviously limited. It doesn't help, either, that the ICC are continuing with the Intercontinental competition when there is absolutely no prospect of Scotland, Ireland or the Dutch ever gaining Test status.

If they had any foresight, the world authorities would revise their future programme and concentrate on helping the emerging countries improve their standards on the ODI and T20 circuit, because it is delusional to believe there will ever come a day when any of these sides will graduate to the five-day format. For starters, it wouldn't attract fans - and let's not forget even the likes of South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka have problems in that direction - but, more significantly, the cost involved in creating Test-class facilities would be both speculative and prohibitive.

However, it's too easy to blame the ICC when the problems lie closer to home. Ever since Craig Wright led his troops to success in Ireland, the domestic circuit has gradually, inexorably, been allowed to wither on the vine. A national league structure was implemented, but didn't last long and we now have a Eastern and Western conference-style system with an end-of-year play-off.

Similarly, the Scottish Cup has been tinkered with incessantly, while Cricket Scotland have introduced two regional teams, the Highlanders and the Reivers, whose exploits have thus far passed largely unnoticed.

What they should be doing is playing hardball with Ireland in an effort to create a PRO12 European tournament, but, on the contrary, the talk at the moment is about the two nations arguing for admission to the English county championship. It's a barmy idea, begging the question: "How can you be a county and a country?", and that's before we return to the question at the heart of most of Scotland's travails. Namely, where is a coherent strategy, a plan which makes sense across the whole sport? It doesn't exist.

I speak to Craig on a regular basis and it certainly isn't all doom and gloom. He is now the Scots' assistant coach and there is a rich stream of precocious youngsters rising through the ranks, who have the potential to flourish wherever they venture. Next month, as co-hosts of the World Twenty20 Qualifier, there will be plenty of thrills in the mix while the Associates aim to book their place at the next major pyjama party. Look out for Michael Leask and Mark Watt, Andrew Umeed and Adrian Neill, Gavin Main and Callum Martin. There are others.

Yet, at the moment, there's a little cloud of despondency about where things went wrong. It hasn't been helped by recent events, with a 34-year-old South Africa Con de Lange gaining a place in the Scotland ranks after serving his eligibility period. And we even had the surreal news that 36-year-old John Blain - who walked out on his country in 2009 - is apparently keen on an international recall. It won't happen, but these sort of stories hint at the drift and dithering which is going on behind the scenes.

Sadly, it is all rather reminiscent of what happened in Scottish rugby for far too long. Somebody needs to step in now and say "enough". Cricket was around in these parts long before the SFA, SRU or the Old Firm. It is in danger of slipping off the radar altogether.