A jam-packed 2022 calendar excites Scotland’s captain and vice Kathryn and Sarah Bryce as the sisters share their ambitions as newly full-time professionals in the English domestic scene.
Flying the flag for Scotland in the English domestic circuit, the Bryce sisters have been retained for The Hundred and are newly announced as Lightning Cricket full-time professionals in England’s freshly designed regional structure, where in the summer both showed their class with standout performances against England’s top prospects.
Beyond the domestic game, the pair’s respective leadership responsibilities with Scotland could cause tension for some sisters but it’s a role they enjoy and thrive upon working alongside on another for the thistle wearing nation.
First on their radars for 2022 is the inaugural FairBreak Global’s invitational T20 tournament in Hong Kong. The Scottish duo will be eagerly awaiting an invitation to the tournament, especially for Kathryn who is no stranger to FairBreak’s founder Shaun Martyn.
‘I was lucky enough to be invited by Shaun Martyn to play for FairBreak last summer. In the end I only managed to play one game for them just before the Kia Super League started, but even just being around that group of people who were so invested in growing the game and the quality of was so inspiring.
‘It just shows the people who have been involved in it like Alex Blackwell and Sana Mir what a great initiative it is and actually to have someone like Shaun who really wants to push the women’s game and give it the visibility it deserves is really exciting.’
At the heart of the FairBreak movement is gender equity using cricket as a tool to make social change beyond the boundary rope.
‘I think their aim of gender equity is huge really to show that women can do things on the same level but that unfortunately a lot of that is about funding and having the money to be able to train regularly in high quality places with high quality players and raising the awareness of that,’ Kathryn added.
‘I think having an initiative like FairBreak to raise awareness of inequalities facing the women’s game is huge. It’s not just in one place either it’s global bringing players together from all around the world which is really awesome. It’s an opportunity you don’t get very often.’
As a potential prospect Sarah says how she’d be looking to draw upon her experiences from Australia’s WBBL rookie programs where both herself and Kathryn have had the opportunity to train alongside players at the pinnacle of their games.
‘I guess it’s kind of like an extension of that because you get the opportunity to train around those cricketers, but you also get to play with them. So, I think it’s really cool and it’s something that I want to be a part of. But I also think the more opportunities that people from associate nations get to play with those from full member nations and at that higher level, the more we’re going to learn.’
Also in the calendar for the Bryce sisters in 2022 is the potential place on offer to play at the Commonwealth Games hosted in Birmingham. Although Sarah recognises it won’t be an easy feat, they’ll be eying up the spot with high anticipation.
‘We’ll definitely be looking to qualify, it’s in Birmingham which would be cool to be there as it’s almost like a home games with home support not too far away.
‘I think the visibility that’ll help for the women’s game will be huge as well because I know for myself anyway during like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics you just start watching sports that you never usually watch just ’cause it’s on and you kind of get into it.
‘Hopefully that could be huge for growing the women’s game and if Scotland can be a part of that it will be pretty special. So yeah, we are definitely going to be pushing for qualification.’
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