Veteran cricket player makes 150th cap
Lorna Jack still loves the game / Credit: Cricket Scotland
Cricket Scotland Women’s Squad has a batter that has reached cap 150.
Lorna Jack, 31, first got into the sport playing cricket after tagging along with a friend to training.
Jack said: “I’ve always been sporty growing up, happy to try my hand at anything and at that time was playing badminton to a high level.
“So I went along, really enjoyed it, knew nothing about, but wanted to learn and just kept turning up, improving which has allowed me to get to where I am now.”
She made her debut at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2007.
Now Jack is a batter and fielder for Scotland’s women’s team, she retired from her position as wicketkeeper in 2018.
She credits the sport to her personal development through learning about different cultures, and has allowed her to travel to different countries.
Jack noted one of the standout moments of her career was when the team was promoted in 2014.
“That was the turn around we needed because after that winning became the new norm,” said Jack.
Another career highlight involved the team’s first game at the European qualifier competition in 2017.
Jack was asked to open the batting by her coach and despite her nerves ended up scoring her first 50 ever for Scotland in front of her family and teammates.
She said: “To do it on home soil in front of the people who have supported you throughout is something very special.”
Even with success comes its challenges, Jack credits the balance to maintain work and cricket to be one of her toughest challenges.
Jack said: “It’s still not perfect but in 2023 Women’s Player contracts were negotiated and I am very thankful to say that I am one of the first contracted women’s players in Scotland.
“This has allowed me to drop hours at my work and use that time to train and better myself for the team.
Other challenges the cricket player faced was during a bad shoulder injury that prevented her from being able to bowl during her time on the U17 Scotland Team.
Jack said: “I didn’t want to have to give up cricket because of this, I was just starting to have some success in the performance pathway age groups.”
After a discussion with the coach Kari Carswell, Jack became a wicketkeeper.
Jack: “It helped with my reaction time and fast hands which I now use as a batter.”
Jack currently is a middle order bat but has batted in all positions from two to 11.
Jack said: “Sarah Bryce who is a full-time cricketer for a variety of squads down south took full hold of the reins. I have to say she is amazing at cricket but her wicketkeeping is outstanding.”
Now after almost two decades playing cricket, Jack is the second highest capped women’s player for Scotland after just recently earning her 150th cap.
Jack is focusing on the T20 World Cup Qualifier competition in April and May 2024, being part of the first ever women’s team from Scotland to do so.
Jack said: “Cricket has impacted my life massively, when you play something to an international level it takes up a lot of your life, it’s been part of me and my life for the past 17-plus years.”
Samantha Vega-Torres is a master’s student at Glasgow Caledonian University enrolled in the multimedia journalism program. She received her bachelor’s in communications with a concentration in journalism and media writing from Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts, USA.
