Tom Mackintosh has international influences to draw upon on the nascent days of his cricket career with Scotland.
While the Scottish aspect of his heritage originated in Edinburgh, Mackintosh was born in Madrid and spent a good portion of his childhood growing up in South Africa.
He got to pull on a senior Scotland jersey for the first time during their recent trip to Nepal, having represented his country at under-19 level previously.
Cricket may not be as popular in Spain as it is on these shores but Mackintosh’s emergence has given his mother’s side of the family a crash-course in all the game’s intricacies.
“I started off in Spain as my mum’s side of the family are Spanish,” he said. “I didn’t really know what cricket was until I was about seven when we moved to South Africa.
“I started playing there and then moved to Edinburgh when I was about 11 where I got my first real taste of cricket in Scotland and loved every moment of it. Having now played for Scotland is just fantastic.
🧢 689
Tom Mackintosh#FollowScotland 🏴 pic.twitter.com/W9X09nKNLu— Cricket Scotland (@CricketScotland) February 17, 2023
“They’re still trying to learn the rules and the nitty gritty. My mum has actually learned a lot. She knows what’s going on these days but every time I go back I’m always trying to teach the rest of the family what it’s all about. It’s quite a complicated game.
“It’s not what they’re used to but they love to see me playing and in amongst it. I’ve got loads of family still in Madrid, lots of cousins on my mum’s side. We like to go back to see them whenever we can although it was obviously tough during Covid.
“But when given the chance I love heading back there.”
‘To make my debut in such a big game was fantastic’
Mackintosh was drafted into the senior Scotland setup for the trip to Namibia in December, which saw Scotland seal their place at the final World Cup qualifier in the summer.
Victory over Namibia in the first game of the tour confirmed Scotland as World Cup League 2 champions and allowed head coach Shane Burger the opportunity to see some of his younger players in action.
That meant debuts for Mackintosh and all-rounder Jack Jarvis against Nepal, with Liam Naylor also getting his first taste of senior international action a few days later.
“To make my debut in such a big game in front of so many fans was fantastic,” said Mackintosh, who plays his country cricket at Durham. “It’s a moment I’m never going to forget. It’s really unique to be able to play in front of that many fans.
“When I went into bat I was a bit nervous, can’t lie. But it was brilliant. It’s not something you get too much at home so just to be involved in that was fantastic.
“We’re all really good mates, all the young guys. To be given that opportunity to play alongside each other was really special.
“Just in general it shows that the hard work that the younger ones have done in the past couple of years. To finally have that recognised and to be given a cap is just testament to all that hard work really.”
Mackintosh got his breakthrough into the Durham first-team towards the end of the 2022 campaign and will head into this season with the goal of making himself a permanent fixture in the squad.
Durham has been a useful proving ground for Scotland players; Aberdonian Kyle Coetzer played at the Riverside for seven years and opener Michael Jones, who missed this tour due to injury, is a current team-mate of Mackintosh.
“I’ve spoken to Kyle about his time there a lot and obviously playing alongside Jonesy as well down there has been brilliant,” he said.
“It’s a good place to be and an exciting team to be a part of. I’m loving playing down there but also getting the opportunity to come away with Scotland too.
“The season is starting in April and I’m going to have to work hard to find a spot in the team down there.
“But I’ll be playing a lot of cricket which is good heading into the qualifier. It’s just a case of getting as many games under the belt as possible and making sure I’m in form heading to Zimbabwe.”
Conversation