RUDRA Singh believes he has come a long way since being appointed Lancashire Cricket development officer more than two years ago.

And with his contract up this September he is confident that if the worse case scenario ever happened, then he would have left local cricket in a far better state than when he found it.

However, the former Indian international is certain he will be allowed to complete what he has started - and it is a good thing as he still has a lot of hard work in front of him.

Since taking up the post in November 1996, Rudra has established himself as one of the most important men in local cricket, with a manifesto to restructure and organise cricket at a grass roots level and introduce more youngsters into the game.

The introduction of Kwik Cricket has helped to stem the flow of youngsters moving away from the game and Rudra has been quick to act to make it a far more appealing sport to those who would normally prefer to kick a football or pick up a rugby ball.

Working alongside local authorities, schools and sports organisations, he has built up a foundation that is going a long way to make sure cricket has a healthy future in the county.

He said: "There are still a lot of primary schools who play cricket but the number falls quite dramatically when it comes to secondary school because the curriculum does not allow for youngsters to play three or four hours cricket.

"But what we have been doing is establishing or improving links between schools and cricket teams in the Lancashire, Northern and Ribblesdale leagues."

He added: "I would like to see more of a stepping stone between junior and senior cricket.

"I am not saying that a 13-year-old player should not play senior cricket because I believe that if they are good enough then they are old enough. What I don't want to see is young players suffering burn out because they are playing for the senior, under 18s, 16s and 14s teams.

"There needs to be more of a structure in the game and hopefully we are working towards achieving that."

Born in Lucknow in the State of Uttar Pradesh, Rudra played all his first class cricket in his native India and won his four one day international caps while playing in his homeland.

Now aged 33, he has been a regular professional in local leagues for a number of years and this season will captain Blackpool in the Northern League. So he has enough knowledge of the local game to know all the pitfalls.

Another of his main projects is to get more Asians involved in the sport and break down barriers that are still within the game.

He said: "I know there are Asian cricketers playing for senior teams in the area but there should be more.

"I am currently working within the community, not just with youngsters, but with parents as well. One initiative includes holding a cricket coaching course at St Mary's College in April."

Another project Rudrah is currently involved in is improving racial equality within the sport and has released a questionnaire on racism for players to fill in.

He added: "I want to see cricket as a fully intergrated sport where the only obstacles standing in your way would be that of ability rather than the colour of your skin."

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