Scotland batter Lorna Jack has said that getting to a World Cup is the “main aim” for the national women’s side, now that nine players have been awarded their first professional contracts. Scotland have never reached the game’s showpiece, but the Under-19s made it to the inaugural World Cup last winter, with Katherine Fraser, Ailsa Lister and Orla Montgomery among those to receive contracts. Jack, who is also a police officer, believes that the contracts will allow the players to have a healthier work-life balance and more time and facilities for training. She said: “We need to have that backing and then use it in the tournaments we go to. We don’t play a lot of international cricket at the moment, we’ve got a few tournaments coming up, hopefully one of them will be a World Cup qualifier, and we want to go there and win the qualifier. Getting to a World Cup is the main aim, and if we can do that, then we’re putting Scotland on the map as a cricketing nation.”
Jack has seen the women’s game develop significantly during her almost 150 appearances for her country since her debut in 2007. She said: “I started really young, and have seen it progress from getting men’s hand-me-downs, playing in extra large shirts – I’m 5ft so you can imagine how that went, especially in Scotland when it’s windy – to now, getting our contracts. It’s been a journey, there are too many people to thank, but they all know who they are. To go from where we were to where we are now is incredible.”