It is a truth universally acknowledged that cricket's history is inextricably interwoven with the story of Empire.

The World Map of Test Cricket bears a striking resemblance to those maps of the British Empire which hung in the classrooms of my father's generation, especially if one were to factor in the level of European settlement involved; the only reason we are spared perennial Test triumphs by the United States is that the American Revolution mercifully happened before sport got really organised, together with that American preference for team sports nobody else plays. (Canada is beyond explanation.)

This is an elaborate way of introducing what was a tiny pink spot on those old imperial maps, one of the very few places on the planet that has remained metaphorically pink to this day. The spot in question is, of course, Gibraltar, that defiant anomaly near the southern tip of Spain which has been British territory since 1713.

It should surprise no-one that Gibraltar has the longest cricket history of any country in Continental Europe, having seen the game played since the end of the eighteenth century, nor that this tiny British dependency, 6.5 square km. in extent and with a population of barely 28,000, punches way above its weight in the contemporary European cricket scene.

It was one of the first Associate members of the ICC, elected in 1969, just four years after the category was established, and it took part in the second ICC Trophy, held in England in 1982. Gibraltar was naturally a founding member of the European Cricket Council, and won the Second Division of the European Championships in 2000 and 2002.

With more than 200 active senior cricketers, Gibraltar must have the highest level of participation per head of any European country. The Gibraltar Cricket Association has 17 member clubs, including one (Malaga) which is actually located across the border in Spain. By contrast with the situation in football, cricket relations between the two countries are evidently cordial.

The top-level competitions involve five sides: 2005 champions Gibraltar CC, Grammarians, Calpe, UKCCC and newcomers PGCC. There's also a midweek league involving 20-overs-a-side matches, with eight teams participating. All matches are played on matting wickets, with club cricket centred on the multi-sports Victoria Stadium complex and on the Europa Oval, with two further grounds owned by the UK Ministry of Defence.

Ably led by veteran Christian Rocca (right), Gibraltar initially dominated Division 2 of the European Championships, winning the competition when it was first held in 2000, and retaining their title two years later. Only in 2004 in Belgium was there evidence that their rivals were catching up, and Gibraltar won only two of their five games.

But the pride of Gibraltarian cricket is the youth programme, which over the past decade has transformed the sport on the Rock. Successive Youth Development Officers (David Gelling, Philip Hudson, and David Young) have worked hard taking the game into schools and creating a network of youth teams, so that last year over 2600 children were actively involved.

It's an initiative which goes back as far as 1997, and its fruits can be seen in Gibraltar's comparative success in under-age tournaments - they won the 'B' Division of the under-19s in 1999 (team phto at right), for example, and finished second to Israel in the 2004 under-17 'B' tournament - and in the progression of young players into the national side.

Unlike many other emerging European cricket nations, Gibraltar prides itself on the fact that its players are overwhelmingly home-grown, and graduates of the youth development programme include Calpe batsmen Steven Gonzalez and Paul Buttigieg and allrounders Ross Harkins and Karan Aswani, Grammarians' batsman-wicketkeeper Mark Bacarese, and GCC's Ian Farrell and Kieron Ferrary, all of whom are now among the leading players in domestic competitions.

With its happy climate and English-language culture Gibraltar is a popular venue for English touring sides. Whatever questions there may be about the long-term future, Gibraltarians are determined that their territory will continue as an outpost of Britishness.

And there's no denying that the success of the GCA's youth policy has ensured that cricket will continue to thrive on the Rock for many years to come.