Little more than a year ago Mollie Parker would have struggled to believe she could get to a T20 Cricket World Cup with Scotland.
The 16-year-old Northern Counties pace bowler is in the national squad for the Under-19 World Cup qualifying series against the Netherlands, which starts today at Mannofield.
Scotland take on the Dutch this afternoon, tomorrow and on Sunday (all 2.30pm starts) with the winner of the series securing a place in the World Cup in Malaysia and Thailand next year.
Parker grew up in Whangarei on New Zealand’s north island, but arrived in Dingwall last year with her parents Gemma and Geoff.
She started playing cricket for Inverness club Northern Counties in the Nosca Senior League and has quickly established herself in the Scotland set-up winning caps at both U17 and U19 level.
Reflecting on her journey ahead of facing the Netherlands, Park said: “My mum is from Scotland and all her family are here. She moved to New Zealand when she was 14 and she wanted to move back so that’s how we ended up coming over.
“I started playing cricket when I was seven because my dad played and I’ve always enjoyed it.
“When we came over, we looked up clubs in the Inverness area, and Northern Counties came up and that’s how I ended up playing for them.
“It’s been really good playing for Northern Counties. They’ve given me lots of opportunities to bat and bowl and I’ve ended up getting involved with Scotland.
“If I go back a year or so ago, I never thought I’d be playing for Scotland, let alone having the chance to potentially go to a World Cup.
“We’ll give it a 100% against the Netherlands and see how we get on. It would be amazing to go to the World Cup.”
Football is Parker’s other passion
Cricket isn’t the only sport at which Parker excels – she also plays for Ross County women in both the first-team and U18 side.
Parker, who is heading into sixth year at Dingwall Academy, is keen to pursue a career in both sports.
She added: “The training is on different days, and if I have a football match that clashes with cricket training, I’ll miss training.
“If I’ve got a cricket match that clashes with football training, I’ll miss training.
“My coaches in both sports are very understanding about it which helps a lot.
“My dad has been telling me I need to pick one sport, but my coaches have said it’s fine to keep going with both.
“I enjoy both and I’d love to try to become a professional in both sports, that would be great.”
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