Scottish women's cricket team is at the high of December 2024. They were named Team of the Year of the Year a month after their first World Cup.

In less than six months, they did not arrange fixtures.

There is not one in the diary. In fact, they haven't played at home since 2022.

“From a funding standpoint, cricket costs a lot. Our resources are very sparse – we almost try and implement women’s plans on the smoke,” said Steve Snell, Performance.

“To host a series we want to see, pay or accept, between £75,000 and £100,000, with very few kickbacks from any funding. If we do three or four times a year on different teams, it will be very expensive very quickly.”

Unlike formal member states like England, women’s competitions do not specify when a future tour plan for fixtures is required.

Even if tourist countries like Pakistan are willing, teams must organize things themselves, and this high cost usually makes it impossible.

For players like Sarah Bryce, the situation is a painful situation: “The team wants to play us now, which is really exciting, but we can’t do it.

“It’s really frustrating because when we don’t have these opportunities to grow, it’s hard to know how we can keep moving forward.”

Abtaha Maqsood agrees: "We feel very helpless. If we don't get the financial support we think we deserve at this point, there's really nothing we can do with this situation."

As part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) tax share, Scottish cricket is about £1.3 million a year to fund all its programs, both men and women.

Aside from a one-off match against the England men in 2018, the board never made a profit by hosting the series, a memorable victory for Scotland.

Comparing this to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which earns over £30m from the ICC and has a lucrative series that can sell broadcast rights every year. The latest ECB account shows that pre-tax profit is £27.9 million.

Snell said England could provide more assistance and provide conventional fixtures.

“I think our interaction is not a huge requirement from the perspective of men and women in England and England.”