Huntly cricketer helps Scotland qualify for T20 World Cup

A HUNTLY cricketer has played her part in history after helping her country qualify for the T20 World Cup for the first time.

Ailsa Lister (20) was part of the Scotland team that that defeated Thailand, Uganda, USA and Ireland to qualify for the World Cup at the fifth time of asking.

The competition – which takes place in October – will see Scotland pitted against established cricketing sides, with England, South Africa, West Indies and host nation Bangladesh all in their group.

Qualifying for the tournament is something that Ailsa, who now lives in Manchester and plays for Lancashire Thunder, will cherish for a long time.

She said: “It’s quite surreal. We had a great competition.

“Leading up to it, we felt confident. We were seeded fifth and the top two (the finalists) got through to the World Cup.

“But we knew we were better than fifth and we played really well as a team to come runners-up.

“We played Ireland in the semi-finals, who are a full member nation, and had an outstanding match to reach the final and qualify for the World Cup.

“Running onto the pitch and celebrating as a team was an amazing moment.”

The qualifying tournament took place in the United Arab Emirates, with Ailsa staying out there with the Scotland squad for 34 days.

Her personal competition got off to a flyer when she hit 55 runs off 34 balls en route to a convincing victory over Uganda – while 22 off 34 balls helped her side to success over The United States.

While the final was lost to favourites Sri Lanka – who also beat Scotland in the group stage – Ailsa and Scotland had already secured top two and a ticket to Bangladesh at that stage.

Ailsa – a middle-order batswoman – missed out on getting to the crease in the final through concussion, but was simply delighted to have taken part in the all-important games that secured qualification.

“We knew the final didn’t matter as much,” she said. “I got concussed in the fielding innings of that game, so it was not quite the ending I wanted but I’m fine now and the important thing is we got through.”

Ailsa’s cricketing career has moved to the next level in the past 12 months. Based in Manchester, she has been full-time since winter – playing for Scotland and Lancashire Thunder.

Her debut for Thunder was delayed due to travelling to the UAE for the Scotland squad, but came two weeks ago in a T20 competition. She was also drafted in the 100 and was picked up by Birmingham Pheonix, something she is very excited about.

Family has played a big part in Ailsa’s success and she was keen to thank mum Ally, dad Tim and brother Stuart for their help. Her parents were out in UAE and were chuffed to share in her success.

“They are super supportive,” she added. “When they told me they wanted to come out to UAE I was surprised, but a lot of parents came out.

“There was a feeling that we would do it and qualify. So a lot of people booked flights relying on us getting to the semi-final. “

“It was great to have them there and to have that support.”

Scotland players have now split up and returned to clubs – but Bangladesh will be in the back of minds, with the opening game against the hosts on October 3.

“We haven’t chatted about our plans but we just want to do as best we can,” Ailsa added. “To play on the world stage is super exciting.

“The conditions will be foreign to us so it will be challenging, but we back ourselves to win one or two games and anything more is amazing.

“It’s a great experience and opportunity to play with players on that level.”

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