- By George O’Neill
- ` Scotland
39 minutes ago
image source, Cricket Scotland
image description,
Robertson-Jack (left) wants to cement her place in the Scotland squad
Scotland women’s first official one-day internationals offer “such an exciting opportunity” and show how far the sport has developed, says all-rounder Niamh Robertson-Jack.
After gaining ODI status in 2022, Scotland makes its three-match debut in the 50-over format against Ireland this week at Desert Springs in Almeria, Spain.
“It’s such an exciting opportunity for all of us,” Robertson-Jack said. “Women’s sport in general has grown a lot in the last 10 to 15 years.
“Especially in Scotland the profile of the game has grown and there are so many young players like myself, Katherine Fraser and Nayma [Sheikh]Maryam [Faisal]. It’s nice to know we can bring it to the stage now.”
Robertson-Jack had a remarkable year. The 17-year-old took part in the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa before securing full international honors in Scotland’s successful T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in September, where her performances included scoring 2-17 with the ball against Italy.
Scotland’s squad is coached by two internationals, former Scotland opening batsman Craig Wallace and former Scotland and New Zealand spinner Leigh Kasperek, and Robertson-Jack is full of praise for the current set-up.
“I love working with Leigh and Craig,” she said. “Leigh has really helped me over the last two months – I wasn’t used to bowlspin and she helped me learn the new part of my game.”
“I spent a lot of time with her, especially when we went to Spain for the qualifiers. We spend so much time practicing things and it’s such a positive environment.”
In addition to her success in cricket, Robertson-Jack also played for Scotland in the U18 Six Nations in rugby and is aiming to become a full international player in both the sport and cricket, having recently linked up with some of the country’s best .
“When I was back in Edinburgh for the regional set-ups, a lot of the Scotland players trained with us – Chloe Rollie, Emma Orr and Francesca McGhie,” she said.
“When training with Scottish internationals – the same goes for cricket – you can learn and absorb so much just by being around them. It’s really nice to talk to them and find out how they deal with things.”
However, their immediate focus is on the historic series against Ireland and trying to secure their place in the squad ahead of the T20 World Cup qualifier in the spring.
“I just want to keep working hard, learning more about my game and learning the different aspects [50-over cricket]Robertson-Jack added. “Qualifying next year is definitely one of my biggest goals.
“[Getting to a World Cup] That would be incredible because then you would be playing against the players you see on TV, like Sophie Ecclestone – there are so many names now that young girls can look for and want. It would be a very surreal moment if that happened.
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