Niamh Robertson-Jack: Scotland all-rounder on historic Ireland series
- Published
Robertson-Jack (left) aims to cement her place in the Scotland squad
Scotland women's first official one-day internationals provide "such an exciting opportunity" and show how far the game has grown, says all-rounder Niamh Robertson-Jack.
Having been granted ODI status in 2022, Scotland make their debut in the 50-over format with three matches against Ireland this week at Desert Springs in Almeria, Spain.
"It's such an exciting opportunity for all of us," Robertson-Jack said. "Women's sport in general has grown so much since 10-15 years ago.
"Especially in Scotland, the profile of the game has grown and there's so many youngsters coming through like myself, Katherine Fraser, Nayma [Sheikh], Maryam [Faisal]. It's nice to know that we can put it on a stage now."
Robertson-Jack has had a remarkable year. The 17-year-old went to the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa before earning full international honours during Scotland's successful T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in September, which included her taking 2-17 with the ball in a comprehensive win over Italy.
Scotland's squad are coached by two internationals, former Scotland opening bat Craig Wallace and ex-Scotland and New Zealand spinner Leigh Kasperek, and Robertson-Jack is full of praise for the current set-up.
"I love working with Leigh and Craig," she said. "Leigh has really helped me over the past two months - I didn't used to bowl spin and she's helped me learn the new part of my game.
"Especially when we went out to Spain for the qualifiers, I spent a lot of time with her. We spend so much time drilling things and it's such a positive environment to be in."
In addition to her cricketing accomplishments, Robertson-Jack also featured for Scotland during rugby's U18 Six Nations and has aspirations to become a full international in that sport as well as cricket, having linked up with some of the country's finest recently.
"When I was back in Edinburgh for the regional set-ups we had lots of the Scotland players in training with us - Chloe Rollie, Emma Orr, and Francesca McGhie," she said.
"Training with Scotland internationals - it's the same with cricket - you can learn so much and soak up so much from just being around them. It's really nice to speak to them and find out how they handle things."
Her immediate focus though is on the historic series against Ireland and trying to nail down her place in the squad before the T20 World Cup qualifier in the spring.
"I just want to continue to work really hard, learn more of my game, and learn the different aspects of [50-over cricket]," Robertson-Jack added. "The qualifier next year is definitely one of my biggest goals.
"[Getting to a World Cup] would be unbelievable because then you'd be playing against the players you see on TV, like Sophie Ecclestone - there's so many names now that young girls can look to and want to be like that. It would be a very surreal moment if and when that happens."