Katherine Fraser: Teenage Scotland star on Shafali Verma & the Under-19 Women’s World Cup

When Katherine Fraser leads out Scotland against UAE on Saturday in the opening game of the inaugural U19 Women’s World Cup, it will mark the latest chapter in an already impressive story.

Fraser made her international debut at 14. Three years on, the Edinburgh schoolgirl is her country’s leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals, having taken 39 in 31 appearances at an impressive average of 13.15.

The 17-year-old has now been trusted to captain Scotland’s best juniors in South Africa.

Scotland have been handed a tough-looking group, with games against hosts South Africa and India following Saturday’s opener, but they will back themselves to finish in the top three and qualify for the next stage of the competition.

They comprehensively beat the Netherlands in August to qualify, and then swept aside the United States by 45 runs on Monday in a warm-up – Fraser scored 19 with the bat, before taking 3-7 with the ball to ensure victory.

“We want to get out of the group stage, that’s our main goal,” Fraser told BBC Sport Scotland.

“We know there will be some good players, but at the same time there’s so little known about so many because it’s an underage tournament.

“We’ll take it as it comes, but we want to deliver our skills and be the best we can be. We’re there to play our brand of cricket. We really want to challenge these players and equally be challenged back.”

Despite her feats at senior international level, Fraser is relishing the experience leading Scotland’s juniors.

“With that leadership element, there’s a lot more to think about,” she added.

“You need to be really on top of everything. I’ve got a good group around me with [fellow Scotland caps] Ailsa Lister and Olivia Bell, so they’ll help me out.

“As captain, you really want to lead from the front – I want to put in good performances and help the team.”