31/07/2025
Thomas Knight (Forfarshire Cricket Club) and Falkland Cricket Club's George Cutler cannot wait to represent Cricket Scotland across Dundee and Angus in the coming week with the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup Europe Qualifier starting on Thursday.
Wicketkeeper/batter Knight will captain the 14-man squad who will play Sweden in game one in Arbroath, Jersey on August 1 at Forfarshire, Guernsey on August 3 at Strathmore, Denmark at Arbroath on August 4 and Netherlands at Forfarshire on August 6.
And seam bowler Cutler will be out to play a key role too with the six teams vying for one qualification spot at January’s World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
I am really excited to be captaining my country on home turf,” Knight, the 18-year-old who has just finished first year studying physiotherapy at Robert Gordon’s University in Aberdeen, said.
“A large number of this group of players have been together for the last couple of years so we know each other well and it is a great bunch.
“As a result, it all flows quite nicely and everyone makes my job quite easy while I have lots of players I can turn to for advice.
“Some might see it as a pressure playing a big tournament like this at home, but having our family and friends watching us and cheering us on is a positive thing and we want to embrace that and use it to our advantage.
“We’ve managed to spend quite a lot of time together in recent months and we’ve had a lot of different games against a lot of different opposition and that has helped us to put the best squad together that we can - now we all just want to do our jobs well for the team.”
It was Knight’s grandad that initially got him into cricket.
“He was always there for me when I wanted to pick up a bat, pick up a ball and that led to me going down to Forfarshire when I was in primary school and I have been there ever since,” he explained.
“The great thing about cricket is that you can get a shot in senior teams when you are quite young and you learn as you go along. The senior players at Forfs have really helped me out along the way.”
Cutler, the 17-year-old right armer who has just finished school, cannot wait for the tournament to start.
“There is nothing better than playing for Scotland with your friends and we have all worked hard for this opportunity so now we want to enjoy it and show people what we can do,” he stated.
“I started playing cricket at Falkland as a youngster after Robbie Nellies from the club came to my primary school and ran a taster session.
“After it, I went home and told my parents that I had loved the experience and told them that I wanted to go to the Friday youth sessions at Falkland and the rest is history.
“I think I was 10, when I started and I just think the youth set-up at Falkland is incredible.
“When I was coming through it and still now, we've got so many people there on Friday nights and it means that you instantly make friends and want to learn more about the game and be part of the club.
“I also have always enjoyed the competitive nature of the sport. It has just always been fun to play while my family have always loved cricket too, indeed my dad (Mark) is the third XI captain at Falkland so we are keeping it in the family.”
Keegan Russell, the Scotland U19 head coach, said heading into the event: “It’s a huge opportunity heading into the World Cup Qualifier.
“The boys are really excited to get going, but we’re also clear that it’s going to be a tough tournament, and the standard of cricket will be very high.”
* A version of this article first appeared in The Courier UK on Wednesday *
