Picture by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images. Sterre Kalis in action for the Netherlands at the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup Qualifier event in Nepal recently.
Sterre Kalis, Hannah Rainey and Rachel Slater are all in line to play at this summer’s T20 World Cup in England, with Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton describing it as “fantastic news”.
The Netherlands and Scotland both successfully came through the Qualifier event in Nepal, which finished on Sunday – alongside Bangladesh and Ireland.
All four nations will feature against the likes of England, Australia, India and holders New Zealand in England from June 12 to July 5.
The groups are yet to be finalised, so it is unclear whether the trio will play at Headingley, which hosts five group stage matches across four days on June 7, 18, 20 and 23.
There is every chance, however, because qualifying teams will feature in four of those fixtures, including against Australia, England and India. New signing Sarah Glenn could also feature for England.
Hamilton said: “Those girls are at an early stage in their careers, so to have the opportunity to play on the world stage at the biggest events can only be good for them and good for us. We’re very proud of them all. It’s fantastic news.
“We’ll make sure they’re prepared and ready to go in a couple of months’ time.
Picture by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images. World Cup bound Rachel Slater celebrates a Scotland wicket in Nepal.
“Unfortunately Hannah didn’t play (in Nepal) because of a bit of a niggle, but Sterre and Slats put in some really good performances. To be able to show their skills on that stage, in a pressure situation, is great.
“And, do you know what, the confidence they will bring back to our set-up as well can only be a good thing.
“It would be brilliant if they were able to play at Headingley. We’ll just wait and see how that pans out.”
Kalis contributed 154 runs in seven innings in the Dutch top order, including a best of 87 not out off 60 balls in a victory over Scotland.
Left-arm swing bowler Slater returned seven wickets in six matches for Scotland, with a best of 3-24 from four overs coming in that aforementioned battle of the Yorkies.
Hamilton said: “It’s great news for them all, obviously, but I’ve obviously got close ties to Scottish Cricket as well. I always want to see them succeed, and us having two of our girls in their set-up, it’s perfect.”
There will be an impact on Yorkshire, with those selected for the T20 World Cup set to miss a period of mid-summer domestic cricket. It is likely to be a handful of matches across both the Metro Bank One-Day Cup and the Vitality Blast.
Picture by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images. Hannah Rainey was with Scotland in Nepal but didn’t play. She will be hoping that’s different in England this summer.
But the preparation for this kind of thing started last summer when head coach Rich Pyrah handed first-team chances in Tier 2 to a number of emerging players from the Yorkshire’s Academy and Emerging Players’ Programme.
“It’s not ideal that they’ll miss matches,” added Hamilton. “But we want our players to be playing in these big tournaments. We don’t begrudge them that at all.
“I think we’ve got enough back-up.
“We’re going to very much build on what we built last year in and around the Academy, and we’ll still have plenty of experience in the squad even without those girls for that period.
“We’ve got half a dozen girls in the Academy who we are prepping and will be ready to go. They’re aware of it, and we’ve communicated that, ‘Just expect to get going in and around that period when they’re away’.
“We’re pretty comfortable with it, and it’s a nice kind of problem to have, really.”
Much quicker on the horizon comes the men’s T20 World Cup, which starts in India and Sri Lanka on Saturday and runs through to March 8.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton has been speaking about the forthcoming Women’s and Men’s T20 World Cups.
Again, there will be significant Yorkshire involvement in Harry Brook and Adil Rashid for England and new overseas signing Logan van Beek for the Netherlands.
For ex-Scotland all-rounder Hamilton, there is the added interest of the Scots having been included last minute following Bangladesh’s withdrawal due to political reasons.
“That kind of thing happened to us when I was playing in 2009 at the T20 World Cup over here when Zimbabwe pulled out late on and we replaced them,” he said. “It was all very quick, the turnaround.
“Look, Scotland have had a pretty tough time over the last three or four years with men’s and women’s cricket. The funding has been a real struggle.
“To have this opportunity for the men, following the boost of the women just qualifying for their event, it’s something we’ve really needed.
“I just hope we can capitalise on it, have two really good campaigns and put our mark on the international game.
“Two months ago, we didn’t really have a clue what was going to be happening this year for Scottish Cricket. Now, all of a sudden, we have two World Cups to look forward to.
Picture by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images. Yorkshire’s new overseas signing Logan van Beek is preparing for the start of the Men’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka this weekend.
“It only takes a couple of big wins and things become a lot easier.
“I believe the men have turned things around pretty quickly and have got everybody they wanted to play over there. So, fingers crossed.”
Scotland face West Indies at Kolkata during a triple header opening day on Saturday (9.30am UK).
Four hours earlier, though, Yorkshire fans will be able to keep an eye on their new overseas all-rounder in Logan van Beek, who should line up for the Netherlands in the opening game of the tournament against Pakistan in Colombo.
England then open their campaign against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday morning (9.30am UK).
“World Cups, they’re always big occasions,” added Hamilton. “To have the involvement we do – Logan and the two England lads – we’re all looking forward to it.
“Harry and Adil are playing nicely at the moment, and I think the England team are starting to shape up really well.
Picture by Sameera Peiris/Getty Images. Adil Rashid and Harry Brook are currently with England in Sri Lanka, playing a warm-up T20 series ahead of the World Cup, which starts this weekend. England play the final game of a three-match series this afternoon and are 2-0 up already.
“There’s obviously been a fair bit of noise around the England camp for the last ‘x’ amount of weeks/months. But, having seen the Sri Lanka tour now, they just look like they’re hitting their straps nicely.
“They look like they might be sort of peaking at the right time.
“Brooky’s obviously had a bit to deal with, but I think this World Cup has come at a good time for him. Having spoken to him, he can put whatever’s happened to the side and focus purely on the cricket.
“I’m sure he will have a good few weeks.”
