Excitement is building in the Scotland Men’s U19 squad, as they stand just one win away from booking their spot at the 2024 Men’s Under 19s World Cup in Sri Lanka.
Victories over Jersey, the Netherlands and Norway have put the Saltires in pole position ahead of the final round of fixtures on Saturday, and success against Italy would ensure they win the Qualifier and reach next year’s tournament.
The nature of international cricket means these tournaments bring together sides that have little knowledge of each other, and captain Owen Gould has been proud of what his team have achieved so far.
He said: “The tournament so far has been a very eye-opening experience and we’re enjoying every moment of it.
“It’s been pretty interesting to come up against new opposition who play different styles; Jersey had a few people who whack the ball a bit and the Netherlands had a really challenging bowling attack.
“It’s been good to test ourselves against teams when you don’t really know what to expect, and you’re going into the games without any pre-conceptions.
“We’ve had to adapt pretty quickly to what’s been put in front of us and we’ve done that pretty well so far; we’ll be hoping to do the same again on Saturday!”
Whilst it has been a whole squad effort to record three consecutive victories, a number of Scotland’s young stars have shone brightest.
“We’ve been really impressed with Jamie Dunk at the top of the order, he’s batted brilliantly, and it’s the same with Alec Price, he’s been exceptional with bat and ball so far.
“Mackenzie Jones has really stood out as well, he’s bowled great for us and been a great finisher for us with the bat.
“We’re enjoying it so far and hope to secure a spot in the World Cup on Saturday.”
