‘We need to be braver in T20 cricket’ – Scotland Women coach Steve Knox

The country is set to host the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier 2019 in August and September this year, and Knox saw it as an opportunity to further development of the sport, especially the women’s game in Scotland. “To have hosted the Europe/Americas Qualifier in Stirling a couple of years ago was brilliant, but to host the Global Qualifier is a step up in terms of the number and profile of the teams that will be coming,” Knox said.

“To have two Full Members in Bangladesh and Ireland competing against us will be great, and the opportunity we have to really sell the game, given the development that’s already taken place in Scotland with regards to the female side of the sport, is huge. It’s perfect timing with regards to that, and hopefully, further development can be kick-started on the back of it.”

Scotland fell short of qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2018 by one place, when they finished third in the previous qualifying tournament in the Netherlands. They made the semi-final and ended up suffering a heartbreaking defeat to Bangladesh Women despite a strong bowling performance, as they could only muster 76/7 in a chase of 126.

Knox, however, said that they had learned the lessons from the defeat and have identified the need to be braver in T20 cricket. “We weren’t brave enough,” he said. “The girls have all acknowledged that and said that we need to be braver as a team in T20 because you have to take calculated risks. That has been the message we’ve been looking to ram home this winter.

“If we’re prepared to take risks, it opens up so many more opportunities. Occasionally, we will get it wrong, but the best thing about this coming summer is that we have two months leading into [the ICC Women’s Qualifier Europe 2019 in] Spain, where we have a lot of opportunities to try things.

“It doesn’t matter if we get things wrong – this is the last year of the ECB competitions in their present form, so if we come last, who cares as long as we have learned something that we can use along the way? So, hopefully, come September, if we are chasing 120 against Bangladesh in the semi-final, we are prepared to be 40 for 2 off six overs rather than 25 for 1. That makes all the difference in this game.”

Before hosting the Women’s World T20 Qualifier, Scotland will travel to Spain for the ICC Women’s Qualifier Europe 2019. Though their place at the global T20 World Cup qualifier is already assured, the Europe qualifier will also serve as a means for the team finishing top to qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2020. The Europe qualifier will run from 24 June to the end of the month, and Scotland will compete alongside Germany and the Netherlands.

“Even though we have the hosting rights, we aren’t as free to experiment as we would have been because it is the qualifier for the 50-over event as well,” Knox said. “But for me, the tournament is about being ruthless. We’re ranked ten places above Holland and 15-20 places above Germany, so let’s go out and show why we are ranked where we are. As long as we do that, it’ll stand us in good stead for August, and will hopefully mean we are successful in making that next stage for the global fifties.”