Scotland is set to make its historic debut in the Women’s T20 World Cup, a feat achieved through an impressive journey during the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier where they competed against Sri Lanka, Uganda, Thailand and the United States of America (USA).
Reflecting on their path to this momentous occasion, Scottish leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood shared her emotions, saying, “It was probably one of the best months of my life to be honest, and to run on and celebrate with the whole team with the Scottish flags and stuff, it was just amazing. It’s just so great to finally be here after 10 years of a lot of struggles and a lot of hardship.”
Scotland emerged victorious in five of their six matches during the Europe Qualifier, propelling them to the Global Qualifier, where they secured a second-place finish in Group A, just behind Sri Lanka. Their most significant achievement, however, came in the semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier held in Abu Dhabi, where they faced Group B winners Ireland.
Scotland defeated Ireland by eight wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, etching their names in history and securing their first-ever spot in the Women’s T20 World Cup. Although they finished as runners-up in the qualifying tournament, with Sri Lanka emerging as the overall winners, Scotland’s journey to the World Cup was a story of resilience and triumph.
Ireland and Sri Lanka were both regarded as the favorites to advance, but Scotland’s determination proved otherwise. In the semi-final, Ireland struggled to build momentum, posting a modest total of 110 for 9 in their 20 overs, largely due to an outstanding bowling display by Scottish captain Kathryn Bryce, who took 4 for 8. Scotland’s chase was anchored by a solid 49-run opening partnership between Saskia Horley and Megan McColl. McColl, who went on to score a composed fifty off 47 balls, laid the foundation for Scotland’s successful pursuit of 111.
“There was a point when we had quite a good partnership to start off with Megan and Saskia that I thought, ‘yeah, I think we might qualify here, I think this is it.’ I had to actually leave the tent a little for a little bit just because I wasn’t very level at that moment,” Maqsood admitted. “But when we finally found out it was just an amazing experience. I don’t think I can ever put that into words.”
Maqsood was a standout performer throughout the qualifiers, finishing as one of the tournament’s leading wicket-takers. She claimed nine wickets, placing her among the top five bowlers in the competition, tied with her captain Bryce and Ireland’s Arlene Kelly. Only her Scottish teammate Rachel Slater, with 11 wickets, and Vanuatu’s Nasimana Navaika, with 10 wickets, surpassed her tally. Maqsood’s best performance came in Scotland’s opening match against Uganda, where she delivered a match-winning spell of 3 for 10, while Slater dominated with a five-wicket haul.
For Scotland, simply reaching the World Cup is a monumental achievement, but the team is not content with just making an appearance—they are determined to compete at the highest level.
“Just getting to a World Cup is a huge statement, isn’t it? Nobody really expected it,” Maqsood said. “The experience is so important for a lot of us, especially because not all of us are professional cricketers, so it’s just a totally different thing for all of us. But I guess we’re not just here to experience it. We’re here to compete. We’re here to show the world what our skills are and how good we really are.”
Ahead of the World Cup, Scotland has arrived in Dubai, where they are acclimatising to the sweltering heat, with temperatures soaring to around 40°C. However, these conditions are not entirely unfamiliar for the team, as they played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) both during the qualification tournament and in the build-up to it. Before the T20 World Cup qualifiers, Scotland participated in an ODI tri-series in Dubai, where Maqsood delivered career-best figures of 4 for 30 in a 50-over match against the USA.
Reflecting on the team’s preparation, she said, “This time around we had quite a bit of prep. We were in the UAE for about two weeks beforehand and managed to get a lot of prep time in there and a lot of fixtures in, so we felt really good, and momentum was in our favour. We were winning and we felt really good going into the tournament.”
Scotland’s journey to the World Cup has not been without its challenges. As an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the team has often struggled with limited funding and a lack of competitive fixtures. These challenges have been a constant source of hardship for the squad, something Maqsood alluded to when discussing the team’s incredible achievement in reaching the World Cup. Despite these obstacles, Maqsood has managed to balance her cricketing career with her academic pursuits.
She has temporarily paused her dentistry degree to pursue professional cricket in England, where she has been a key player for the Sunrisers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and for Birmingham Phoenix in the Women’s Hundred. Reflecting on her cricketing journey, she said, “The past few years have been the best years of my life, to be honest. Being a professional cricketer, I never thought I would be able to say that I do this as a job. It was always kind of like a glorified hobby for me. For me, being a dentist was really important, but when these opportunities came about, my priorities obviously changed a little bit.”
Now, Scotland finds themselves in Group B of the Women’s T20 World Cup, where they will face strong opposition in the West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa, and England. Their campaign kicks off on October 3 with an opening match against Bangladesh.
For Maqsood and her teammates, this World Cup represents not only a chance to compete against the best but also to showcase the talent and determination that brought them to this point. Scotland may have arrived as underdogs, but they are eager to prove they belong on the world stage.
(Quotes sourced from ESPN)