Cricket Scotland has taken the top global prize of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards 2010, with what was judged to be the 'Best Overall Cricket Development Programme'. 

The award by the International Cricket Council follows the previous accolade given to Scottish cricket as the European regional winners, which was announced in January. 

The winning citation said that Scotland's cricket infrastructure achieved a significant amount in 2010 throughout all aspects of the game - in junior cricket, women’s cricket, in new strategies and the creation of new pathways.

Steve Paige, Head of Community Development for Cricket Scotland, said: "To win the European award was a tremendous endorsement of what we have been striving to achieve over the past few years. Now to be acclaimed as the best cricket development programme in the world is a fantastic feather in Scotland's cap.

"As ever, this is not simply about the work of our excellent team of professional development officers. There is also an army of volunteer coaches who play their important part in developing cricket at grassroots level.

"In 2010, we saw some fantastic achievements within our community programmes: 468 schools competed in our schools cups; we had 56 primary schools festivals; we educated more than 300 teachers in introductory programmes; 110 umpires attended introductory courses, with 58 taking Level 1 exams; we delivered courses to 134 PE students; and now we have over 450 active UKCC coaches. 

"And our development team around the country have been doing a splendid job in growing the game and ensuring we have sustainable structures in the clubs, so they can support all the children and adults that want to play the game."

This year’s judging panel featured current ICC President Sharad Pawar, alongside former ICC presidents David Morgan, Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Gray. Keith Bradshaw, the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club, completed the line-up.

The ICC's Acting Global Development Manager, Tim Anderson, said of this year’s eight award-winners: "It’s great to again see such outstanding initiatives and people leading the development of our great sport around the world. They deserve this recognition.