Cricket Scotland's lobbying of the Scottish Executive looks to have paid off, with the news that the game is poised to come under the umbrella of the Scottish Institute of Sport for the first time.

Denis Canavan MSP, chair of the Executive's Cross Party Group for Sport, has promised to rally to cricket's cause after hearing a persuasive presentation by Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith about the national team's lack of financial support ahead of next year's World Cup.

Canavan agreed that the game was under-funded at elite level – cricket receives an annual £50,000 from Sportscotland's "Achieving Excellence" strand, which compares very poorly with the likes of swimming and hockey – and proposed that it should become one of the Institute's core sports.

Although the Stirling centre has just lost one of its core sports, with athletics' decision to withdraw in search of more autonomy, cricket is not expected to simply inherit its place. However, SIS chief executive Mike Whittingham told The Scotsman last night: "As part of a forward-planning process we are in discussions with Sportscotland regarding all new opportunities, and cricket features on that list."

Smith responded by saying: "That's fantastic news for Scottish cricket. I am aware that the Institute is going through a big review at the moment, and if any changes that are made affect cricket's ability to receive support, that would be great. We would be very keen to be involved in some capacity."

It is not known how long the SIS review will take, but Scotland's mostly amateur national side could yet benefit in their preparations for the World Cup next March. They have an intensive program comprising trips to Bangladesh, UAE and Kenya, and the availability of SIS physio treatment between trips, for example, would be invaluable.

The cost of this winter's program – including players' compensation for three months' lost earnings – will be funded almost entirely by corporate sponsors, such is the lopsided nature of Sportscotland's funding of cricket - strong at the bottom and weak at the top.

With this in mind, Smith made a glossy presentation to the Cross Party Group at Holyrood last month, and Mr Canavan has responded enthusiastically on two fronts.

“I certainly think that cricket should be given more support by the Scottish Executive, and that it should be included in the Scottish Institute of Sport's list of core sports,” said the member for Falkirk West.

“The Scottish team is faring much better than in many other sports and there are ambitious plans to improve on that ranking in the future.

“Cricket Scotland is also doing excellent work with young people, especially primary school children. And cricket has a high proportion of players from ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly from the Asian community in Scotland.

“All of that fits in well with the Executive's strategy for social inclusion and physical activity and we should therefore be giving as much encouragement to the development of cricket as possible.”

Smith added: "Any support we get from politicians, any lobbying or proactive support to influence government policy, is of course very welcome."