Bisecting pressure and excitement, Kathryn Bryce wants to "show what associate players can do" in WPL 2024
There are 96 associate cricketing nations in the world - 19 in Africa, 16 in the Americas, 20 in Asia, nine in East Asia-Pacific, and 32 in Europe. Together, they have one representative in the Women's Premier League 2024 - Kathryn Bryce.
The Scotland captain was signed by Adani Sportsline owned Gujarat Giants for ₹10 lakh at the auction last year. When the Giants take on Mumbai Indians in their campaign opener on Sunday, Kathryn will be in line to become the first-ever player from her country to play in a T20 league in India, men's (the IPL) or women's.
Now in India for the first time on a professional contract, Bryce is aiming to balance the excitement and the burden of showing what players from the under-represented countries can do in the biggest competitions.
"I think it's an exciting opportunity to be able to go out there and perform for the associate players," she told Sportskeeda in a chat. "It's obviously a privilege to be able to do it but also, I guess, a little bit of pressure to go out there and perform for the associate nations and kind of show what they can do. So yeah, definitely a really exciting opportunity."
But it's what she does. Being a handy and versatile batter with the dexterity to swing the new ball big, Kathryn Bryce's career started by becoming the first girl to play in the boys' first 11 at George Watson's College in Edinburgh.
In December 2020, she and her two-years-younger sister Sarah, who is a power-hitting wicketkeeper-batter with a mean cut shot, became the torchbearers for Associate nations in receiving full-time domestic contracts in England.
A few days after signing the contract, Kathryn was named the ICC Associate Player of the Decade for 2011-20, of which Sarah was also a nominee. Next year, the former became the first player from Scotland, male or female, to break into the top 10 of the batting or bowling lists in the ICC Player Rankings.
Growing up, they never saw cricket as a profession, but their skills earned them jobs even before they graduated from college. Being the captain and vice-captain of the national side, they have already changed the perception of hundreds of girls in Associate countries. Now, Kathryn Bryce is making WPL popular in her home too.
"A lot of people who play cricket are aware of it and have been able to watch it a bit, but I think hopefully, it'll grow even further with the participation that I've won as well," she said.
Unlike the IPL, the WPL encourages the participation of associate players by allowing teams to include them in addition to the allowed four overseas stars. However, like the IPL, teams continue to trust established and experienced (which is also a luxury for associate players) for their limited spots.
"A really exciting season ahead" - Kathryn Bryce
Kathryn Bryce was part of a three-day camp with the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year where she met uncapped batter Priya Mishra. Now, Mishra, and coffee outings with New Zealand pacer Leah Tahuhu have made her feel comfortable. But this being only her first trip here as a contracted athlete, is not short of dares.
"Obviously, there's a bit of probably a difference language," she said. "In most of the tournaments I have played in before, everyone always speaks English. So it's been a bit of a challenge, sometimes the communication but I think that's kind of the beauty of it as well — learning how to communicate with people that don't necessarily speak as good English, but finding different ways of communicating and getting the best out both sides of it as well."
So far, she has had a few training sessions done with the Giants alongside some drills at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the venue for the first phase of the WPL. Although the possible lack of swing in India hasn't made her change the preparations too much, Kathryn Bryce is intent on adjusting to some intricate changes.
"The weather is a bit warmer here so getting used to that (chuckles) and obviously, kind of expecting a bit of dew to come down in the evening. So I think that'll be kind of one of the key ones that might have an impact on the game that you kind of got to get used to quickly."
The Giants will play their first four matches at the Chinnaswamy and the next four at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. As they aim to shrug off a last-place finish in the previous season, they'd want to start well against the defending champions and then look to repose the potential of a star-studded lineup.
And Kathryn Bryce feels the addition of Australian young virtuoso Phoebe Lichfield and the return of Beth Mooney as captain could get them just that.
"Phoebe Lichfield has come into the team and I think she's been outstanding over the last 12 months for all the franchise teams that she's played for and also Australia," she said. "So she's gonna be a really key part. And I think Beth Mooney is one of the most consistent players in t20 cricket so, um, yeah, I think definitely with those two, it'll be a really exciting season ahead."