SCOTS HOPE TO TURN UP THE HEAT IN CHILLY NEPAL
Kathryn Bryce feels favourable conditions in Nepal can aid Scotland in their quest to reach this summer's T20 World Cup.
The Scotland squad have arrived in Kathmandu to begin preparations for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier, where early morning temperatures are expected to plummet to low single figures on match days - a sharp contrast from the team's recent playing experiences in Thailand and Pakistan, but not dissimilar to early spring days in Scottish domestic cricket.
Ahead of the tour, the Scotland coaching staff have been picking the brains of the men's squad, who visited Nepal in February 2023 and experienced similar cool conditions. That trip ended in success with Scotland lifting the CWCL2 trophy, and Bryce is hopeful of another memorable month in the Himalayas.
"There's certainly going to be a few challenges for the competing teams," said Bryce. "Given our men's squad played there recently, Craig [Wallace] has spoken to some of them to get as much information as possible, including a feel of how to assess the conditions at various times of the day.
"If we're being honest, playing in cold conditions is probably a bit foreign to us as well, given our experiences over the last couple of years - we've been used to being out there when it's 40 degrees! It'll definitely be a bit of an advantage to us I think if it is similar to home conditions, as in a lot of these tournaments it's about who can adapt quickest and be ready to hit the ground running."
Bryce missed November's tour of Thailand due to her domestic playing commitments in Australia, where she was part of the Hobart Hurricanes squad that won the WBBL for the first time. While sister Sarah took over the captaincy, Kathryn was able to catch the action on TV and was left impressed by Scotland's performances in the Quad Cup and ICC Emerging Nations Trophy.
"I had a great time in Hobart, and it was great to be involved in some seriously high quality cricket and be part of the first trophy win for the team in the WBBL," she said.
"The whole energy around that experience creates a great feeling - winning can become a massive habit, so for me to be around that mentality more often and experience those little 1% moments that can be the difference at the top level, it was just great to be part of it.
"When I had time, it was great to watch the team playing in Thailand, although much more nerve-wracking than being on the pitch - I know how my mum feels now, it's definitely not as enjoyable! I think the tournaments provided a lot of opportunities for many of the squad, and put them in a variety of situations that can only serve us well and be really valuable going into this month's Qualifier.
"Thailand was great in that the squad were able to get together and play some cricket, and we saw really encouraging growth of some players during that tour. Hopefully off the back of that, arriving here in Nepal and getting some warmup matches in, we can be ready to go from ball one when the tournament starts."