SCOTLAND BOYS TASTE CELTIC CUP SUCCESS, WHILST WOMEN'S UNDER 19s CONTINUE WORLD CUP PREP

Scotland Women Under 19s and Scotland Boys' Under 17s both hosted Ireland last week, with the women losing a competitive five-match T20 series 3-2, whilst the boys defeated their opponents 2-0.

 

Both series marked another important step as both groups build towards World Cups - for the Women's Under 19s, in January in Bangladesh and Nepal, whilst the Under 17s will have a World Cup Qualifier next summer ahead of the Men's edition in 2028.

 

Reflecting on her side's series against Ireland, Kari Carswell, Head of Girls Pathway, said:

 

“It was great to have a home series and play five T20s that were all really competitive, and it gave us an opportunity to look at a number of players. Getting the squad together to play games can be challenging, so to get those five games, and a week of fixtures against county sides this week, has been a really important period for us.

 

“As a group, we probably learned a little bit more about how to play T20 cricket, working out how we want to go about our cricket; picking up on weaknesses in batters and bowlers that we’re facing, and making a plan to counter that.

 

“We’ve got players who have experience at this level now, so it was great to see those really step up and contribute positively, such as Pippa Sproul and Ammy Baldie – and I thought our spinners were excellent across the week as well.

 

“We have the school games coming up at the start of September, which will be a good challenge to play against an ECB side and Ireland once again, and then it will be a busy winter training schedule leading up to the World Cup in January."

 

 

For Scotland Boys' Under 17s, they defeated their Irish counterparts in both completed 50 over games - with the other washed out at the halfway stage, after Ireland had been bowled out for 186.

 

Keegan Russell, Head of Boys Pathway, said: 

 

“First and foremost it was really pleasing to get some international cricket under our belt. It was the first taste these boys have had in this cycle of an international series, and playing Ireland is always a competitive series.

 

“As an Under 17s team, this group have been playing up a year in the ECB Under 18s competition, which has been challenging and a good test, but it was nice to see them go out and perform really well against a team in the same age group this week.

 

“Off the field, the time we were able to spend together at Dollar Academy was huge in terms of building on the culture we're trying to develop within the group, and they're connecting really well on and off the field, which is exciting moving forward.

 

“The boys have really leaned into the game plan and blueprints in terms of the type of cricket that we're trying to play, and it’s been good to have time to experiment with different combinations – I feel like we’re now starting to refine our bowling combinations, and what kind of batting combinations we’re looking for.

 

“Obviously the way we played as a group across the week has hugely pleasing, but it was also great to see some fantastic individual performances as well. Arnav Saraswat took five wickets in the first game and four wickets in the third, and was brilliant, bowling really tough lines and getting the ball through at a decent pace.

 

“Munro Cubbon, who fell just short of his 100 in the final game of the week, batted brilliantly to get us over the line in a chase of 240, and was supported by Olly Pillinger who struck a 50. It was also exciting to have Nathan Umeed and Marcus Vila, two members of the Under 15s squad, come in and perform straight away at this level - both made important contributions.

 

“Moving forward, we've got three Super Series games coming up later this month which is really exciting, and will see our top Under 17s players in the pathway play three intrasquad games – those games, alongside performances throughout the summer, will be used to help select our Under 19s winter training squad as we build up to the World Cup Qualifier next summer."

 

The scorecards from the Women's Under 19s Celtic Cup can be viewed here.

 

The scorecards from the Boys' Under 17s Celtic Cup can be viewed here.