Scotland failed to make the ‘Super Six’ stage, but recorded a group stage win at the Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
The Scots have come on a lot over the last 12 months under head coach Steve Knox, but knew it was going to be tough against more experienced opponents in Sri Lanka.
In the first match they batted first against South Africa and posted 142 thanks in part to a half century by Kari Anderson but lost by six wickets.
That was followed by a seven-wicket loss to Bangladesh. But captain Abbi Aitken praised the battling qualities of her side as they defeated Papua New Guinea by seven runs in their third group match.
Batting first, Scotland were all out for 169 then, in a thrilling finale, restricted Papua to 162 all out.
Aitken said: “As the last few overs approached we knew it was going to be close and that is when we had to hold our nerve. Everyone stood up to the plate and to get a win in this event is reward for the hard work everyone put in.”
Rachel Scholes top scored for Scotland on 35 while Liz Priddle made 31 and Anderson chipped in with 26.
Anderson then took three wickets with Priyanaz Chatterji claiming a caught and bowled in the last over to finish things off.
The final match ended in a six wicket loss to Pakistan.
Aitken added: “We didn’t shy away from telling everyone coming out here that it was our aim to get to the Super Sixes and we haven’t done that, so naturally we are disappointed that we haven’t achieved what we set out to do. We are a bit gutted, but we did know that it was going to be a big task.”
After their involvement in the event, Anderson retired from international cricket as Scotland’s most capped player, winning 152 caps.
She tops the batting aggregate list with her 3,560 runs coming at an average of 31.79, including two centuries and 23 50s.
Her haul of 159 wickets sees her also top the all-time Scotland list, as does her record of 42 catches.
