The Scotland women's national cricket team, nicknamed the Wildcats, represents Scotland in international women's cricket. The team is organised by Cricket Scotland, an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Scotland was involved in the first international women's cricket match, when they played against England in August 1932. The team played sporadically throughout the remainder of the 20th century, with regular competition beginning only in 2000. Scotland's first international tournament was the 2001 European Championship, where matches held One Day International (ODI) status. The team's only other ODI appearances to date came at the 2003 IWCC Trophy in the Netherlands, a qualifier for the 2005 World Cup. Outside regional tournaments, Scotland has only qualified for two major events since then – the 2008 World Cup Qualifier and the 2015 World Twenty20 Qualifier.
In April 2018, the ICC granted full Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Scotland women and another international side after 1 July 2018 will be eligible for WT20I status. In May 2022, the ICC announced Scotland as one of five women's sides to gain ODI status. Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and the United States are the other four teams.
History
In , a Scottish women's team played England at New Road, Worcester, in what was the first international women's cricket fixture. Four members of the inaugural Scottish women's side – Betty Snowball, Myrtle Maclagan, Joy Liebert, and Betty Archdale – later played in Test matches for England. After 1932, a Scottish women's team was not raised again until 1979, when a fixture was played against a Junior England team at Malvern College, Worcestershire.
Scotland made their international tournament debut at the 2001 edition of the Women's European Championship. They lost all three games, finishing last in the four-team tournament. Two years later, they played in the 2003 IWCC Trophy, the inaugural edition of what is now known simply as the World Cup Qualifier. They finished fifth in the six-team tournament, which was hosted by the Netherlands, with their only win coming against Japan.
They again played in the European Championship in 2005, but again went without a win and finished last. In 2008 they competed in the Women's World Cup qualifier in South Africa, finishing sixth in the tournament.
In 2014, Scotland was promoted to Division 2 of the Women's County Championship after losing only one game throughout the season. However, they suffered relegation the following season. In 2015, Scotland participated in the ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifiers for the first time, finishing fourth at the tournament in Thailand.
In April 2018, Kathryn Bryce was named the captain of the team. In July 2018, Scotland played its first official T20 international match against Uganda in the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier in the Netherlands.
In December 2020, the ICC announced the qualification pathway for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup. Scotland was named in the 2021 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier regional group, alongside five other teams.
Mark Coles resigned as head coach in January 2022. He was replaced by Peter Ross on an interim basis in March 2022, through to the end of the 2022 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE.
Tournament history
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier
2015: 4th (DNQ) 2018: 3rd (DNQ) 2019: 5th (DNQ) 2022: 6th (DNQ)
Commonwealth Games Qualifier
2022: 3rd (DNQ)
European Championship
1989 to 1999: Did not participate
2001: 4th place
2005: 5th place
2007: 4th place
2012: 3rd place
2014: 3rd place
2016: 1st place
Records and statistics
International Match Summary — Scotland Women
Last updated 24 October 2023
Women's One Day International
Highest team total: 211 (47.2 overs) v. Ireland on 17 October 2023 at Desert Springs Cricket Ground, Almería. Highest individual innings: 83, Kathryn Bryce v. Ireland on 21 October 2023 at Desert Springs Cricket Ground, Almería. Best innings bowling: 5/41, Hannah Rainey v. Ireland on 21 October 2023 at Desert Springs Cricket Ground, Almería.
ODI record versus other nations
Records complete to Women ODI #1347. Last updated 21 October 2023.