Former Wicket-keeper batter Craig Wallace replaces Peter Ross as the new head coach of Scotland Women’s team ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
The former Scotland wicket-keeper batter Craig Wallace was named as the interim head coach last year, replacing Peter Ross in the role. The former 34-year-old wicket-keeper batter Craig Wallace has made 53 international appearances for Scotland in the white-ball format, since making his international debut on 13th March 2012 in a T20I against Kenya. His last international appearance for Scotland came in an ODI on 17th August 2022 against the USA.
The Scotland women’s team led by skipper Kathryn Bryce managed to achieve a historic feat as they sealed their spot for their maiden appearance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The former wicket-keeper batter Craig Wallace was appointed as the interim head coach replacing Peter Ross in the position last year. Cricket Scotland has officially announced Craig Wallace as the full-time head coach of the senior women’s cricket team.
“The results on the pitch over the last year have been absolutely fantastic with Craig in charge, and qualifying for the T20 World Cup has been a major success. Equally, in terms of the way Craig has shown how he plans to take women’s cricket in Scotland forward, it’s an extremely exciting vision, and I’m very confident he will do an excellent job as Head Coach.” Cricket Scotland’s Head of Performance, Steve Snell is pleased to see the appointment of Craig Wallace and backs the former wicket-keeper batter to take Scotland to new heights.
He played a crucial role in helping Scotland seal their maiden appearance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. They were impressive in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers, as they finished as the runners-up of the tournament against Sri Lanka. They finished 2nd on the points table in the league stages of the tournament with 6 points from 4 games.
Their solitary defeat came against the eventual champions Sri Lanka. The two finalists booked their spot for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. The upcoming edition of the tournament is the 9th edition of the tournament. It was originally set to be hosted by Bangladesh, but, due to the political instability in the country, it is now shifted to the United Arab Emirates. However, Bangladesh will still be sharing the hosting rights for the tournament alongside UAE.
“It’s exciting to work with them to grow the women’s game and improve the national team to the best of our abilities. I’m keen to push them as far as they can go; they want to be among the best players in the world and it’s my job to create an environment that allows them to flourish.” Craig Wallace speaks about bringing the best out of the players and providing them with an environment to express themselves.
Scotland are placed in Group B alongside West Indies, England, Bangladesh, and South Africa. The Kathryn Bryce-led side will be up against Bangladesh in the tournament opener at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 3rd October 2024, from 3:30 PM IST.
(Quotes sourced from Cricket Scotland Press Release)