Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire and Scotland star Rachel Slater has been looking ahead to the T20 World Cup, which starts this weekend.
By Rachel Slater
Playing in a World Cup is the pinnacle of our cricket with Scotland, and this T20 one starting at the weekend is one I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
When we qualified in January, out in Nepal, it felt like ages away. But it’s come around very quickly.
With me being a Yorkshire player, it’s only natural that a lot of the talk will be about me playing at Headingley, and especially the England game a week on Saturday. I will come onto that in a bit, but we have to focus purely on our opening game against Ireland at Old Trafford this Saturday.
I think that’s just as big a game, to be honest.
We’re obviously going into every game looking for a result, but I think that first one against Ireland is one that we’re really looking at because they’re arguably our biggest rivals and we’ve had a pretty good record against them in recent times.
Then it’s the West Indies at Headingley on the Thursday.
We’re coming into this World Cup really confident. We’re playing good cricket.
We’ve just beaten Bangladesh in a tri-series in Edinburgh. I think it was the first time we’d ever beaten them. And we dominated the Netherlands as well, when it’s previously been a lot closer.
I certainly think we’re in a much better place than we were two years ago for our first World Cup in the UAE when it was almost a case of, ‘Let’s see what happens’.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire Academy fast bowler Gabriella Fontenla is also part of the Scotland squad.
This time, we’re genuinely here to get some results.
I’ve heard a few people say that they think we’re a team not to be underestimated. But, I don’t think we need to hear it from outsiders or whatever to make us believe that. We already believe. We know how good we are.
It obviously plays into our hands that a lot of us play county cricket in England and play on these pitches regularly.
The conditions really suit us, and we won’t have that added challenge of adapting to conditions, heat and everything else that you sometimes have in these tournaments. That was definitely the case for the UAE one.
So, everything is with us, and – as I say – we’re really confident of having a good few weeks.
I’m obviously not the only Yorkshire player in the Scotland squad, with Gabriella Fontenla with us as well.
Honestly, I couldn’t be happier for her. It was three or four years ago I first met her, when she was only 13 or 14. She’s been someone who everyone in the Scottish system has spoken about for quite a long time as the kind of next big thing.
She’s so impressive with what she does. She’s quick and swings the ball and is very consistent.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Rachel Slater is fully focused on Scotland v Ireland at Emirates Old Trafford on Saturday. But she can’t help but be excited about Scotland’s games at Headingley, including against England a week on Saturday.
She only turned 18 last week. So to come in and bowl as well as she has done against good opposition on really good pitches has been amazing to see.
I think a few counties were after her in the winter, so we’re pretty fortunate that she’s chosen Yorkshire. But I don’t think there’s a better coaching set-up to work with in the country if you’re a seamer.
Rich Pyrah is brilliant, Jared Warner as well.
I’m sure she will be great for Yorkshire, and hopefully she can push to get into the first team after the World Cup and going forwards.
She will be one of the quickest bowlers around, even in senior cricket. But, also, she’s such a nice girl as well
Sometimes, when you’ve played a lot of cricket, you can get used to things a bit. But she’s genuinely so excited by it all, and it’s been very refreshing to have her around.
I know I haven’t played a massive amount of cricket recently, but I’m ready to go. I’ve been dealing with a bit of illness lately. I was ill a couple of weeks ago, recovered, was meant to play the Blast game down at Somerset and got ill again.
I felt like I started the season really well. So for it to have been disrupted for the last few weeks, it’s been very frustrating.
Picture by Gareth Copley/Getty Images. Sterre Kalis is also involved in the World Cup with the Netherlands.
But, at the same time, I think I’ve played enough cricket this winter and this season already to know that I’m in a good position and I’ll be absolutely fine. It could have been much worse, that’s for sure.
As I said earlier, I’m trying not to look too far ahead because Ireland is our main focus. But, I can’t deny that the games at Headingley will be an unbelievable experience if I’m selected to play in them.
I will have a lot of friends and family there.
Even at the last World Cup, when I played against England and stood there singing Flower of Scotland, it was probably one of the top five moments of my life.
To do the same against the West Indies and England on my home ground, at the place where I’ve grown up – hopefully there will be a big crowd there, it will be up there with anything I’ve ever done.
Things like that don’t come around too often. It will be really special.
I think I said it on the Yorkshire website when the fixtures were released. To play against England at Headingley, I couldn’t have written a better script.
I feel like I’m not a very openly emotional person or whatever, and I don’t say stuff like this very often. But, genuinely, it’s going to be a dream come true, regardless of what happens, to get to do that. I feel very lucky to have the chance.
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Sophie Molineaux of Australia and Nat Sciver-Brunt of England interact during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Captains’ Carnival at Waterloo Bridge on Sunday.
Fingers crossed, things work out between now and then.
But, first, Ireland on Saturday morning. We can’t wait to get going now.
If you want to attend any of the Headingley games in the T20 World Cup, you can purchase tickets via the link below.
