Scotland has confirmed the return to Scottish cricket of Kari Carswell, with the former international captain and Head Coach taking over the role as Scotland U19 Women's Head Coach.

Kari, who was capped 152 times during a 17-year international playing career, is returning home after nearly three years as firstly Head of Women's Cricket and then Participation Director at Middlesex Cricket.

She takes over in March, ahead of an exciting period for the Women's Pathway programme, with Scotland U19's hosting the Netherlands in the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier in July.

“I’m really excited to be back involved with Scotland," said Carswell. I’ve been a keen watcher over a number of years now, and to be back here coaching is really exciting. I feel like I’ve gone away and learned lots, and I want to pass on as much as I can to the players and coaches involved.

“We’ve been away from Scotland for a longish period, and we really want to be closer to our families. This opportunity came up and it’s a very good time for Andy and I to move back to Stirling. As anybody will tell you, I’m a proud Scot and the opportunity to give back was too good to turn down.

“I’m really looking forward to working with players and coaches across the game in Scotland. It’s such an exciting time in women’s cricket globally and to be able to help is something I’m really passionate about. It was great to be involved first time round, and to see the progress made since is really pleasing.”

Following the conclusion of her international playing career, Kari spent five years in New Zealand, working in coaching and development roles with Northern Districts, as Head Coach and Female Pathways Manager at Spirit, as Assistant Coach of ‘Whiteferns’ Development, and finally as Head Coach of the New Zealand Under 19 and Development squads.

She swapped the Southern Hemisphere for "The Home of Cricket" in 2021, working jointly with both Middlesex Cricket and MCC where she was responsible for the strategic growth and delivery of all Women and Girl’s cricket programmes, working with the MCC Foundation, and supporting the delivery of London Spirit programmes.

Kari re-joins Cricket Scotland with a goal of qualification for a second successive ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup, which takes place in Malaysia and Thailand in 2025.

“I’ve met some absolutely wonderful people and thoroughly enjoyed my time in London. I’m a Middlesex fan now and I know I’ll be back to watch games. To be able to say I’ve called Lord's my office is still so surreal!

“There’s obviously a huge carrot to qualify for the U19 World Cup. We’ve got a good lead in to the qualifiers, so there's plenty of opportunity to get across ideas of how we go about playing T20 cricket.

“It’s a busy summer with games and that will provide excellent practice for the squad, whilst we need to keep producing players for the senior squad too. I need to get to know everyone and see who can do what, but we’ve got the time on our hands.”