Overlooked by the Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle and Cambuskenneth Abbey, set against a backdrop of the Trossachs and tucked into a bend in the River Forth, the scene is not merely breathtaking but could hardly be more evocative.

New Williamfield - the name itself stirs images of the nation's globally renowned freedom fighter - represents Scottish grandeur at its finest and, if Cricket Scotland's head groundsman is to be believed, will become the home of the sport in this country within two years.

Alan Simpson has to declare an interest when saying so because he has overseen the development of the venue that will see its first competitive action this weekend when Stirling County 2nd XV face Boroughmuir on the main wicket while the 3rds tackle Old Contemptibles on the adjoining oval.

Initially, it had seemed natural to assume he would know what he was doing, because the last project of this type was at his hometown club when Ayr moved from Cambusdoon to New Cambusdoon in the 1990s. Yet he admits to having been too inexperienced to have any more than a watching brief. "I wasn't involved in the construction there because I was just learning the ropes."

So, the Stirling club's move was the first opportunity to put knowledge acquired over an intervening period in which he has become a kenspeckle figure on the Scottish cricket scene and the obvious one to approach.

"It has been a wonderful journey for me over the last three years since I got a phone call from Keith Russell at Stirling Council asking me to look at the site," he went on.

"I was excited, nervous and apprehensive at the same time, but we always thought it had the potential because of the setting and I am so grateful to the club for giving me this opportunity."

From the club's point of view, this was the long-awaited opportunity to realise assets by releasing the value of the ground they had owned for more than a century. Cash-strapped, with little in the way of decent facilities, members knew they were sitting on a goldmine at rickety old Williamfield, slap bang as it was in the centre of one of Scotland's most thriving cities.

Yet with planning permission understandably having been blocked for the best part of 20 years by locals eager to maintain a strip of green belt, Stirling County CC was dying a slow death, the pavilion decaying while a declining membership struggled to maintain the ground to decent standard.

Then came news that the council required a location on which to build the new Stirling High School and an option that was far less contentious than a housing development was on the table. After some horse-trading, a deal was struck, with the council agreeing not to pay cash, but to rehouse the cricket club at its new home.

The construction was potentially problematic not just because of the riverside location, but because much of the area on which the first-team pitch is now built was landfill. Its square was laid in 2005 and early indications are that those lessons Simpson learned at New Cambusdoon have been put to good effect.

"I learned quite a lot from that experience and they made quite a few errors I thought, so I made sure we didn't repeat them, especially regarding drainage and depth of soil on the square," Simpson observed.

The lie of the land also helped. While just down the river at Bridgehaugh the rugby club was once again flooded out during what was a particularly wet mid-winter, there was no flooding at the cricket ground. A fierce spell of recent weather did leave water lying on areas compacted by intensive work that has gone into trying to get the stylish pavilion and electronic scoreboard operational for the season, yet, encouragingly, it cleared almost as quickly as it had gathered once the rain abated.

As for the playing surface itself, Simpson's expectations are high considering that he is directly comparing with what is regarded as a fine pitch at New Cambusdoon, explaining that they started by digging four times as deep, some 20 inches as opposed to five.

"Once the root zone and the grass develops and beds in we should get a lot of pace and bounce," he said. "It will be very good for cricket, especially if it is maintained properly."

The club has done what it can to ensure that by awarding him a three-year contract to continue to maintain the ground and he believes the full potential will be seen in that time.

"I'm looking at 2009 for senior Scotland international matches. Next year it could possibly have junior internationals," was his bold prediction. "I think it has huge potential as an international home, not just location-wise because it's Stirling in the middle of the country, but because of the potential round about with areas where you could put marquees, areas where you could put a couple of stands and a lot of natural seating area to watch cricket."

So far, the pitches have only been used for practice with the bounce better than had been anticipated at such an early stage, but Simpson knows the true measure will be the grapevine as leading players and umpires start visiting.

"I'm quite confident they'll find that it's one of the best in the country and that it will develop into the best," said a man who regularly inspects 15 to 20 grounds around Scotland, including preparing the Grange for international matches.

Locals will doubtless offer their verdict over the next few weeks, with all those interested in membership invited to a recruitment day on May 13 and Simpson hopes they will be as impressed as Jim Macfadyen, Cricket Scotland's facilities co-ordinator, apparently was on visiting the ground in midweek. "He was absolutely thrilled with what he saw. I couldn't have wished it to turn out any better.

I just want it to perform now."