Tuesday, Mar 18 2025 | Time 18:19 Hrs(IST)
SportsPosted at: Mar 18 2025 1:20PM


Scotland unveil strong squad for ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier

Edinburgh, Mar 18 (UNI) Scotland have named their 15-player squad for next month's ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier event in Pakistan.
The European side have included 12 players that featured at last year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup, with experienced all-rounder Kathryn Bryce to once again lead the team as captain as they attempt to qualify for their first 50-over World Cup.
Australian-born all-rounder Saskia Horley is the big name missing from the Scotland squad, with the talented 25-year-old taking a break from international cricket. Spinner Olivia Bell is also sidelined due to a shoulder injury.
It means there is room in the Scotland squad for teenager Pippa Sproul, after the 17-year-old finished as the side's leading run-scorer during the ICC Women's Under 19 World Cup earlier this year.
Scotland coach Craig Wallace believes Sproul is capable of performing well on the big stage at the qualifier, an ICC report said.
"Pippa (Sproul) has received her first call-up, and I'm really excited for her, it's always an amazing experience coming on tour for the first time, and I'm looking forward to having her as part of the group," Wallace said.
"Hopefully she can bring the excellent skills that she showed in the Under 19 World Cup in January, she's got a really good temperament and knows her game really well, so it will be exciting to see what she can do with more opportunities.”
Two places at this year's 50-over World Cup in India are available via next month's qualifier tournament, with Scotland chasing a top-two finish along with West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ireland and Thailand.
Wallace knows competition will be tough in Pakistan, but is confident his side can prove more than competitive against their five opponents.
"The qualifier's an amazing opportunity, it's going to be great to have the group back together, playing against some excellent teams and really challenging ourselves," Wallace added.
"We've learnt a lot over the last year, with the qualifying campaign for the last World Cup and then playing in that event, and we have that belief and knowledge that we can get through these qualifiers.
"Qualifiers are always quite brutal events, there's never much margin for error, and especially at this event, it does feel like everyone can beat each other.
“We just have to focus on ourselves, and use what we’ve learnt over the past twelve months to play our brand of cricket at the highest level we can.”
"It will be a new experience playing in Pakistan, but I’ve spoken to people I know who’ve played out there, and some of the squad have been there before, so we’ll be leaning on them, getting an understanding of the conditions and how we can best adapt to them.
"It sounds like an amazing place to play cricket, so we're really looking forward to getting out there and seeing what Pakistan brings."
Scotland squad: Kathryn Bryce (c), Chloe Abel, Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Sarah Bryce (wk), Darcey Carter, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Ailsa Lister (wk), Abtaha Maqsood, Megan McColl, Hannah Rainey, Nayma Sheikh, Rachel Slater, Pippa Sproul, Ellen Watson (wk).
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Tags: #Scotland unveil strong squad for ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier
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