On WC finals debut, Scotland start slow but live their dream

DUBAI: Katherine Fraser was on a chair, slouching. As if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Maybe that was the case. After all, she was the captain of the first Scotland women’s team to represent her country at an ICC finals tournament.

In early 2023 in Johannesburg, the 18-year-old was relishing her responsibilities. At the same time, she knew this was just the beginning. The dream was to qualify for the senior T20 World Cup. Earlier this year in Dubai, that dream had turned into a reality when they qualified for the marquee event which was originally supposed to happen in Bangladesh. Cut to October, Scotland became only the second women’s Associate team after Thailand in the 2020 edition, to sing their national anthem loud and proud.

While the result against Bangladesh at the Sharjah Cricket Ground did not go their way as they lost by 16 runs in a low-scoring affair, it was Scotland’s first major step in the right direction. After many years of playing and failing to cross the qualifiers barrier, Scotland were at the biggest stage they have known. Fraser believed that hard work was finally rewarded.

“It is a culmination of a lot of years of hard work,” Fraser got a little emotional talking about those failed qualifying attempts ahead of the tournament. “I have been to three qualifiers. The other girls have been to many more. We have put so much work behind it. I am just so proud to be part of this group. It means a lot and I cannot wait to get going in the tournament and to get challenged against some of the best players in the world. I know it will be an amazing experience,” she added.

However, the memories of the moment her captain, Kathryn Bryce, confirmed the qualification to the World Cup bring a smile back to Fraser. “I was just sitting on the bench at that time. I just remember the ball getting hit over the boundary and all of us charging onto the field. I think it was just the moment you kept such a long time thinking about. That is the moment for which you put most of the hard work in. That is the exact moment you are working for. To finally get that moment, it was a relief but also a lot of pride.”

With the same pride her senior team counterpart, Bryce, has led this side throughout the qualifiers and even now. A decorated veteran and ICC’s Associate player of the decade also inspired Fraser in her early days. “When I was coming through the age group, she was definitely someone I looked up to. She was quite a young captain at that time but just kept scoring bucketloads of runs and taking lots of wickets as well. Once I got into the senior side, I learned so much from her. The way she leads, the way she goes about her cricket, and her mentality. She is such a good person to have around,” Fraser had nothing but praise for her senior.

While Scotland could not cross the line against Bangladesh, Fraser dismissed opposition opener, Shathi Rani, just as she was looking threatening. In her four overs of off-spin bowling, she kept the Bangladesh batters’ scoring rate under control and even created opportunities for her teammates to take wickets. Even when the nerves here and sweaty palms there derailed Scotland’s plan to stick to their fielding standards, Fraser owned up to her reputation of one of the best fielders in the team on multiple occasions.

Ultimately, the jittery nerves became the undoing of Scotland in their first-ever World Cup match. Their captain was brutally honest in the post-match chat with the broadcasters about that. “It was always going to be the tough first game. To get rid of nerves and get out of the first fixture. We have played some brilliant cricket over the last few months so hopefully more of that will come through in the next few weeks. There was a buzz around and we were probably not sure what to do with those nerves at times. But it was good to get out there and get some game time,” Bryce said.

Scotland has thoroughly earned the right to get those jitters and feel those nerves. Their World Cup debut might not have gone the way they wanted, but at least they have reached the next level.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 119/7 in 20 ovs (Mostary 36; Horley 3/13) bt Scotland 103/7 in 20 ovs (Bryce 49 n.o.; Moni 2/15).