Canada’s women played two matches in the Tri-Series against the women of Scotland and Thailand last Thursday (July 18, 2013) as part of the preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifier. Both games were played at the Railway Union Cricket Club, Dublin.

Scotland won the toss against Canada and elected to bat. The Scots scored 168 for seven from twenty overs. Canada had an opening stand of 69 but was held to 103 for three in twenty overs, which if one considers Scotland’s significant recent playing activities and preparations is quite respectable.
Canada was held to 58 for eight (20 overs) by Thailand’s bowlers, and the Thai’s scored the necessary runs to win by nine wickets. The Cricket Association of Thailand’s facebook page carries news of this win, but did not mention any scores. In the other game played on Thusday, Scotland won the toss against Thailand and elected to field. Thailand scored 117 for six (20 overs). Scotland won by six wickets.
The Scottish women’s recent activity has included matches in the LV Women’s County Championship Division Three with a recent loss to the Netherlands Women. The Dutch Women hit an impressive 259 for five (50 overs) then bowled out Scotland for 193 in the 48th over.
Scottish captain Abbi Aitken commented after this defeat, “We are disappointed not to end our County campaign with 3 wins out of 3, but our performance in the league has been a massive improvement in comparison to last season. ”
Scotland is currently third in the LV Division Three with a record of five wins and two defeats from seven games. A similar record to fourth-placed Leicestershire. The Scots had beaten Northamptonshire before the game with the Dutch. Northants sit in second place with six wins and two defeats from eight matches, the division leaders at present are the unbeaten Netherlands Women with five wins from five games.
Cricket Scotland’s official website provided the following perspective on playing “unknown opposition” (as in the games against Canada and Thailand on July 18 and 19) after meeting the previously “unknown” Japanese in May:
‘Scotland women will play four T20 games against Canada and Thailand on the 18/19 July. Canada and Thailand are preparing for the ICC Global T20 qualifiers that take place the following week.”
“Playing against unknown opposition will give the young Scots an opportunity to see how far they have come in a short space of time. It will also give them an opportunity to get some important match practice in the shorter form of the game, something that the recent domestic regional series has focused on.”
Scottish captain Abbi Aitken “was excited at the prospect” of games against Canada and Thailand. She said, “It’s a great opportunity for us to gain more match experience and playing against two teams that we have never played against before makes it more challenging.
“We had a number of T20 matches against Japan in May so hopefully we can build on those performances. The team are in high spirits at the moment, we are playing well as a team and some of the individual performances have been great.”
The Scottish women’s side, as well as the Netherlands Women, play in the England and Wales Cricket Board Women’s Division Three County Championship.
Abbi Aitken pointed to progress made by the Scottish women due to playing more cricket at both club and national levels: “As a squad we are determined to become more consistent with our performances, and everyone is working hard and playing as much cricket as they can. We recognise that the more cricket we can play for our clubs really helps us when we go away to play in the County Championships. We have real depth now as a squad and there are a lot of U17’s coming through, it’s an exciting time for the game in Scotland”.
The Scots had a busy time before the ICC World Cup Qualifier in Dublin, as the Cricket Scotland website pointed out: “Prior to the (Scottish) squad flying out to Dublin the squad have a triple header against Hertfordshire, Hampshire and Holland to complete their Division 3 fixture list. The Wildcats, who lost last time out against Northants, will be looking to bounce back immediately.
　
Scottish Coach Kari Carswell is excited by the challenges ahead, “It’s a lot of cricket in a short space of time, but it’s something the squad are looking forward to.”
“The games in the County Championships are crucial, we want to continue to put in positive displays and see where we end up in the league. Of course we want to finish in to the top two, but it’s certainly a marked improvement on last year already. We have picked a squad of 14 to cope with the 7 games (3×50 over and 4xT20’s) and I think we have selected a balanced squad”.
On May 1st, 2013, Scotland lost game one to the then unknown Japanese Women on “a damp wicket” at the Glasgow Academicals ground, but bounced back to win in game two. In game one, Nakayama took three quick wickets to leave the Scots struggling on eight runs for three wickets (3.1 overs). Scotland reached 66 for seven from 20 overs, and the Japanese reached a winning 67 for three in the sixteenth over. Nakayama scored 25 not out.
Japan made 70 for six (20 overs) in the second game of the day, but this was insufficient as Scotland responded with 71 for four in 17.1 overs.
A first-ever match for the Scottish Women President’s XI resulted in a win for the President’s XI against the Japanese. The Japanese men’s and women’s teams were on tour as part of a celebration of 150 years of cricketing history and links with the Scots.
So there are some swings and roundabouts in the development of international women’s cricket, as can also be seen from scores involving Ireland’s women against Pakistan in recent weeks.
　
Scotland coach Kari Carswell summed up the early season visit by the Japanese, “It was a fantastic experience to play against the Japanese over the last two days. It’s a great way to kick off what should be an exciting season for us.”
Eddie Norfolk, with thanks to the Cricket Scotland Website and other information providers.