Coach Coles willaimtofind ascotlandstyle
Scotland women’s cricket head coach Mark Coles wants his side to find a style of play that suits them and which can help take their game to the next level.
Under Kiwi Coles for the first time, the team will be playing four T20 games against Ireland in Belfast today, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Coles arrived in Scotland earlier this year with an impressive CV including a spell coaching the Pakistan women’s team.
“For me it’s about finding a style of cricket that suits Scotland,” said Coles.
“When I first went to Pakistan it was exactly the same. It’s finding out what works for Scotland, not trying to emulate Australia, England, New Zealand or whoever. But a style of cricket that suits our players.
“I’d like to think that that’ll be a positive style of cricket, I think that’s really important, finding the style that suits the players that you can have some fun and be brave with and then look to win games with.
“Wherever you go in the world, every team is stronger in some aspects than others, so it’s about putting it all together in the melting pot, finding out what suits us and then working really hard with it.
“It’s great to finally have international cricket to look forward to.
“It’s been a long wait for the players and I know they can’t wait to get out there again.”
Key for Coles in the coming week will be proven performers like captain Kathryn Bryce, her sister Sarah and Abtaha Maqsood. But he is also looking for youth to step up.
In 16-year-old spinner Katherine Fraser, Scotland look to have a real talent in their ranks and she said: “Coming off my first season with the Scotland team in 2019, I was excited ahead of 2020 to see how things would go, but obviously we never managed to play any matches.
“I learned a lot about what it takes to play at a senior level two years ago, and when cricket was halted last year I was determined to keep myself as fit and as motivated as I could.
“We now have these Ireland games to look forward to and I can’t wait to get stuck into some competitive matches again.
“It will also be good to play for the first time under our new head coach who I am enjoying working with and learning from already.”