Jennifer Cunningham argued on Monday that Scotland's valiant attempts in the Cricket World Cup should be used to encourage a new generation of boys and girls to take up the sport, as a less aggressive alternative to football.



I agree that alternatives to football are required in a week when yet again hooliganism has been to the fore in the "beautiful game" both here and abroad.

Cricket, I am sure, is one creditable sporting alternative - but it is not the only one. I would beg to suggest that field hockey has all the benefits of cricket with a few additional advantages.

Hockey is, like cricket, non-contact; also, it has that slight element of danger from the hard ball, and can be played by all ages and both sexes. It will improve the fitness of all who play the game - which cannot be said of cricket, where some will be banished to the boundaries to run after the odd ball before it goes over for four runs. It can also be played in all weathers, which alone must surely relegate cricket to the subs' bench in our climate.

Let's have adequate funding for both sports. Sports funding in this country is paltry compared with most of our European counterparts.
Stuart H Dick, Western Wildcats Hockey Club, Milngavie.

CRICKET does have a "softy sport" reputation in the west of Scotland. But not in Australia, it doesn't. Here, despite the participation of eager women, cricket's a beer and macho game with aggression and competitiveness at its very core. Sledging verbal baiting of opponents is big, too. And while I wouldn't condone it, at least it's better than physical violence.
Gary, Australia, comment on The Herald's website.

My memory of playing school cricket involved standing still on the boundary fence watching the play before gorging myself on tea-time sandwiches, cakes and scones made by doting mothers. Hardly a cure for childhood obesity.
Simon Tierney, by e-mail.

FAR better to move away from our obsession with team sports and look at how to foster a more inclusive approach that puts the focus on exercise, not winning.
David Eyres, Glasgow.

CRICKET is the perfect sport to combine individual and team effort. No other sport would accommodate such maverick personalities as Geoff Boycott, Vivian Richards and Greg Chappell in a team environment. Cricket takes a group of individuals and makes them more than the sum of their parts. It's an important lesson for all of us, not just children.
G Milston, Hampshire, by e-mail.