FAMILY AFFAIR FOR MAQSOOD AT WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

It will be a special moment for Abtaha Maqsood when she steps out onto the field in Lahore, playing in her parents’ home city for the first time.

 

Scotland will open the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier against the West Indies on Wednesday morning, with the next fortnight providing the opportunity to create more history, after last year's maiden T20 World Cup appearance.

 

“It's just really nice to be able to be back in Pakistan for the first time in about eight or nine years,” said Maqsood.

 

“It's lovely to be in my parents’ home city. Pretty much all of my dad's family are in Lahore, so hopefully they'll be coming to all of the games, which will be really nice, and my dad has also travelled from back home in Scotland, so it'll be lovely to see him there as well.

 

“I've never played cricket in Lahore before, and to be able to play in the city where both my parents grew up is actually a really special feeling for me, and so it'll be lovely to play in Pakistan and Lahore with my family on the sidelines.”

 

One of the biggest challenges for the Scots is adjusting to the subcontinent conditions after a UK winter, but it is a challenge that this group have become familiar with in recent years.

 

 

“It's always going to be tough, I wouldn’t say it's as hot as it was at the World Cup in Dubai, I think that was probably the hottest it's been," continued Maqsood.

 

“But it's still something that we need to deal with every single time that we go abroad in a hotter country and hotter climate, but we are definitely getting a little bit more used to it.

 

“The pitch conditions have been really good, they’re roads basically, and the outfields are lightning quick, so I think it's potentially going to be a fairly high scoring tournament which is great viewing, so I'm excited to get into it - but bowling could be a bit difficult with not much turn on offer!"

 

Having tasted success at the T20 World Cup qualifier success last year – knocking out full member nation Ireland - the Scots know what it takes to come through these often brutal events.

 

“We've played in a lot of World Cup qualifiers, we're pretty well versed in what it's like and what tournament cricket can be like.

 

“We're definitely a lot more confident, especially having qualified for a World Cup already last year, and that's definitely given us a lot more confidence to hopefully qualify this year.

 

“There’s a lot of excitement to get the tournament started. We’ve played the West Indies quite a few times now, we know what a good team they are, and the strengths that they have in their squad.

 

“There’s obviously a few nerves about, but we are just excited to get going, and we’re all quite confident that we can put in a really good performance.”

 

Scotland take on the West Indies at 0530 UK time on Wednesday morning, live on icc.tv.