Former England international Kirstie Gordon has committed her international future to Scotland, for whom she began her international career.
Born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in Scotland, Gordon had previously represented her country of birth between 2012 and 2017, earning 60 caps after making her international debut at the age of 14.
After moving to England for her studies at Loughborough University, she made her Nottinghamshire debut in 2016 and later chose to switch her international allegiance in pursuit of a full-time professional career. She went on to represent England in six international games, including featuring at the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup, where she picked up eight wickets at 12.25 in the run to the final. She also played a one-off Test match against Australia in 2019, claiming three wickets.
Though she has not played a game for England since, she has been on the international fringes, regularly featuring for England A. She turned down the chance to take part of a second-string tour of Ireland ahead of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup, "to focus in on playing domestic cricket", according to England's then-coach Jon Lewis. Had she featured in that series, the opportunity for a potential Scotland would have been pushed back, with ICC regulations mandating a three-year cooling-off period after a player's last appearance for a Full Member country before representing any other.
Kirstie Gordon returns to Scotland
The 28-year-old left-arm spinner is currently recovering from a back injury but will become available for Scotland selection once she returns to full fitness. Her decision comes as Scotland prepares for the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, scheduled to be held in Nepal in January.
Scotland qualified for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and are now one step away from securing a place at the 2026 edition, which will be hosted in England.
The slow left-arm spinner has played a total of 115 T20 games, picking up 142 wickets at an average of 17.65. She has an economy rate of 6.43 with best figures of 5-12.
Speaking on the decision to switch back to playing for Scotland, Gordon said: “I made my Scotland debut very young, and I was fortunate to go to the first global qualifiers in Thailand in 2015, so I had some awesome experiences with Scotland at that time, but I was really keen to try and take my cricketing career as far as I could.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind in the last couple of years to return to Scotland… It feels like it’s the right moment to 'come home'.”
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