England star tips hat to Scotland for maiden T20 World Cup qualification
An England star was thrilled to see close neighbours Scotland earn a place at this year's tournament in Bangladesh.
England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt has showered praise on neighbours Scotland after they sealed qualification for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2024 witnessed a historic moment as Scotland secured their maiden berth in the main tournament, following years of close misses.
Nat Sciver-Brunt thrilled to see Scotland qualify | Women's T20 World Cup
Despite participating in previous Qualifier events in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2022, Scotland had never progressed beyond the initial stages.
However, in this edition, they finally broke through, with captain Kathryn Bryce leading the charge with exemplary performances throughout the tournament.
Kathryn Bryce reflects on Scotland's historic run | ICC Women's T20WC Qualifier 2024
England's cricket sensation Sciver-Brunt, who shared the dressing room with Kathryn and Sarah Bryce at The Blaze in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, expressed her joy and excitement for the Scottish players' achievement.
“Really chuffed for them,” said Sciver-Brunt. “I love stories like that. Teams battling it out to get to a stage where they haven’t been before and it is really exciting to see some new faces around the competition.
“We’ll look forward to playing against them. Three or four of them have got a really good experience of cricket in England, but also in tournaments worldwide. So yeah, not to be taken lightly and exciting.”
Scotland v Sri Lanka | Final | Match Highlights | Women’s T20WC Qualifier 2024
Scotland's performance at the Qualifier event was outstanding, with their only losses coming against Sri Lanka, both in the group stage and the final.
In Group A, they demonstrated dominance against Uganda, USA and Thailand, securing convincing victories to comfortably advance to the semi-finals with six points.
Despite being considered underdogs in the semi-final clash against Ireland, skipper Kathryn Bryce led the charge with a remarkable opening spell, claiming four wickets in quick succession.
Excitement builds as the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 is set to illuminate Bangladesh in October.
Bryce then showcased her batting prowess by scoring a composed, unbeaten 35 runs, - that included hitting the winning runs - that guided Scotland to the final and securing qualification for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Bangladesh later this year.
They were without their captain for the final against Sri Lanka and a special century from Chamari Athapaththu stopped Scotland from lifting the Qualifier trophy.