INTERVIEW
Follow UsWhile the world was in awe of Dewald Brevis, Dunith Wellalage, Yash Dhull, and others, one perhaps could not be blamed for overlooking a certain Jack Jarvis, who finished as the leading run-getter and wicket-taker for Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup 2022 in the Caribbean. His 149 runs at 29.8 came at a strike rate of 93.71. With the ball, he finished with seven wickets at an economy rate of 5.
As a team, Scotland may have had a tournament to forget. They ended the campaign without a win, which included a loss to Uganda, but they certainly unearthed a future all-round star.
However, the 21-year-old's introduction to the big stage was quite BRUTAL. He was smothered for 40 runs in the 10 balls he bowled in the first T20 International (T20I) against Australia in Edinburgh. But two matches later, he got rid of Mitchell Marsh – the man who smashed 30 of them.
Having started off at Livingston Cricket Club, Jarvis moved to the Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh when he was 12. His father, Neil Jarvis, also played for Livingston, and he slowly developed an interest in the sport. Soon enough, junior Jarvis was playing for them.
“I started playing cricket because my dad used to play, so I went down to the local club when he'd be playing on a Saturday. I would be watching and stuff. That then changed to me playing as well. So, I started playing there and joined Livingston Cricket Club when I was about 12, moved into Grange Cricket Club Cricket in Edinburgh just because there were more opportunities there to play more cricket at the Grange - Under-15s, Under-13s competitions,” Jarvis said in a chat with Cricket.com.
“From there, I got involved in the Scotland set-up at Under-17s, and then I was lucky enough to play at the Under-19 World Cup. I had a decent campaign, I learnt a lot from that individually. I was then able to graduate to the Men's squad from there. It has been a nice journey, and I'm really appreciative of everyone who has helped along the way at Livingston, at Grange, at Scotland and in the leagues set up. So, there are a lot of people who helped me along the way.”
Speaking of the Grange, a young(er) Jarvis was in the stands as he saw Kyle Coetzer-led Scotland pip England in an ODI there in 2018.
“It doesn't feel like that long ago that I was sat in the stands getting sunburnt watching us beat England,” Jarvis recalls.
“And now to be able to play with some guys who played that day, not even that day, watching these guys play my whole life is cool to be in the same dressing room as them.”
Over the years, Scotland's players have been getting their due recognition regarding playing franchise cricket. The likes of Michael Jones play in England, and Chris Sole has turned up at the ILT20 and the CPL. In fact, George Munsey was the leading run-getter in the Global T20 Canada recently, and Jarvis was his teammate there at Brampton Wolves. In fact, Jarvis also played the Max60 – a 60-ball per innings tournament in the Cayman Islands, where his international teammates Michael Leask and Brad Currie also played.
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Jarvis was a regular starter in both tournaments and had shared the dressing room with some greats like David Warner. Did Warner give Jarvis any tips to counter his old teammates, though?
“We are really focused on our cricket more than anything, more than thinking about what the Aussies are going to do. We think about what our strengths are, how we can go about winning games of cricket,” Jarvis said ahead of the T20Is.
While Jarvis played club cricket in Scotland from the age of 14-15, he has now had a decent crack at franchise cricket. He speaks quite highly of his experience so far.
“Everyone I have been with over the last month has been really nice guys, really humble and been nice to play alongside them,” Jarvis said of his experience of playing in franchise leagues.
“Just amazing to see how much cricket they've played to how little I've played in comparison. They were really nice and humble to us, which was really good.”
Jarvis’ rise to the senior team was a quick one. After playing in the Under-19 World Cup in 2022, he was called up for the CWC League 2 in Nepal the following year and made his debut in front of a packed stadium in Kirtipur. Then, he was also part of the T20 World Cup 2024 squad, but he did not get a game.
“It was a really good experience," Jarvis, 21, talks about his experience at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
“Especially for myself, being quite a young member of the squad. It was my first experience at the World Cup. The guys did really well. We were very disappointed in the end that we didn't make it through to the Super 8s. We showed everyone in the world what we are capable of and just how far this group can go. That was something that was really exciting.”
Scotland have had plenty of ‘what if’ moments over the last few years. Be it 2018, where they were robbed of making it through to the ODI World Cup, or more recently when their rained-out game against England potentially did not allow them to progress to the Super 8s.
If there’s one thing Scotland don’t know to do, that is to give up. They will once again be the favourites to progress to the T20 World Cup and the 50-over World Cup, and also create a few ripples in the tournament. New blood like Jarvis, Charlie Cassell, Michael English, Jasper Davidson, and other such future stars will be key in pushing them forward.
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