Sport can be a cut-throat business, frequented by narcissists, egomaniacs and solipsists. But for every person who feels the world revolves around them, there are others capable of dispensing wisdom and experience with an avuncular air.

Scottish cricket is rich with such characters - think Dave Christie at Freuchie and Mike Stanger at Clydesdale - but, during the past 25 years, few have done more to promote the sport from Fife to Dundee and Arbroath to Aberdeen than Clarence Leon Parfitt.

A languid Bermudan with an unshakeable belief that there is no valid reason why Scotland cannot join the ranks of Test-playing countries such as New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the future, Parfitt's life is testimony to his philosophy that travel broadens the mind, keeps one young and encourages the dissemination of fresh ideas.

It is near-impossible to credit that he is 63 years old on encountering this coiled spring of activity and energy as he preaches the cricketing gospel through more than 50 schools within his catchment area as a Cricket Scotland development officer, north of the central belt.

"When I first arrived here, back in the early 1980s, there were a lot of people who were sceptical about Scottish cricket and even more who barely knew that the game existed in every corner of Scotland," says Parfitt, who was first signed up as a professional at Arbroath United and, subsequently, Stenhousemuir, during his prolific spell as one of the wiliest spin bowlers ever seen in these parts. "Things have changed dramatically since then, though, and I am really excited about where we are going.

"In the 80s, most clubs didn't have junior programmes - it was just assumed that the next generation of players would turn up somehow and, because of that short-sightedness, several teams went into steep decline.

Nowadays, there are genuine links between the schools and their local clubs, there is a structure which offers every talented youngster the chance to progress and Cricket Scotland has really upped the ante, by organising under-15 tours to South Africa and other initiatives of that sort.

"The governing body are far more professional now than they were 20 years ago and the number of kids emerging from the system is tremendous.

"In an average week, I might be working with up to 500 young people, and more and more of them are ambitious.

"They have read about the Saltires and watched Scotland in action, and they recognise that, if they show the right application and enthusiasm, they can climb the ladder."

Parfitt is disinclined to toot his own horn, but his own achievements are pretty remarkable.

For instance, he represented Bermuda from 1966 to 1981 and appeared for them in the 1979 ICC Trophy in England, where he helped his compatriots reach the semi-finals of the competition. Indeed, he is a national icon in his homeland, reputed to be the greatest spin bowler the island has produced, and was inducted into Bermuda's Sporting Hall of Fame in 2004.

Possibly even more commendably, he gained a call-up to the Scotland ranks in 1988 - aged 44 - and proceeded to bewitch, bother and bewilder a succession of English county batsmen, never more so than during his 12-over spell of four for 16 against Nottinghamshire at Titwood in 1990, the same year in which he recorded the remarkable analysis of nine for 128 against the MCC at Lord's There was also a Benson & Hedges Cup victory for him to savour with Scotland, in the pre-Saltires days, when they beat Northamptonshire on their own patch in 1989, while Parfitt was altogether too much of a handful for the majority of Scottish opponents he encountered, as highlighted by his grand haul of 1093 wickets, which included that rarest of feats, 10 wickets in an innings, for just 44 runs, when he single-handedly routed Dundee HSFP in 1986.

The statistics mean little to Parfitt who prefers to gaze ahead. Having twice steered the pupils of Timmergreens Primary School in Arbroath to success in UK-wide competitions, his next objective is to contribute to the age-group sides who will aspire to bring Scotland World Cup conquests in 2015 and 2019.

It might seem a distant prospect, but if Parfitt has learned anything, it is that decades can pass in the blink of an eye.

"I have no doubt that the Scots can be a cricketing force in the future," says Parfitt. "Sure, they need a bit more support and we have to keep raising the profile and making more Scots aware of the potential which exists, but the trend is upwards and I am very optimistic.

"Put it like this, I don't think the Scotland selectors would give a debut to any 43 year-olds these days. There are too many teenagers chasing the same places and I know, because I watched a lot of these boys come through the system."

With which, he bade a polite farewell and returned to the nets. As long as gentle knights like Parfitt are grafting at the grassroots, you can be cheerful about what lies ahead.

Words by Neil Drysdale

This article was published in yesterday's edition of The Herald newspaper, Glasgow, Scotland.