Stafanie Taylor’s heroics with the bat and Aaliyah Alleyne’s death bowling saw the West Indies squeeze past a spirited Scotland by seven runs at Headingley.
Taylor rescued the West Indies after they had slipped to 85 for five, with a 19-ball 47 to see her side post 153 for six.
Darcey Carter survived cramp and being dropped twice to post 59 but it proved in vain as she was the first of three Alleyne wickets in the penultimate over as the West Indies held on to secure their second win of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
TAYLOR RESCUES WINDIES AFTER FRASER BRILLIANCE
The sixth-ranked West Indies were put into bat, and the match was evenly poised into the fifth over before Scotland asserted their dominance as Katherine Fraser took a stunning high catch and landed centimetres from the boundary to dismiss Qiana Joseph for 13.
Fraser then bowled the dangerous Hayley Matthews for 14 as the West Indies struggled to find impetus with Scotland (ICC Ranking: 11) exemplary with the ball and in the field.
Deandra Dottin was the next to be dismissed for 14 on her 150th T20I as the Bryces combined with Sarah stumping off Kathryn’s bowling.
In the following over but on the very next ball, Fraser affected a run-out to dismiss Shemaine Campbelle, who had won the West Indies the game against New Zealand, for 36 which left the West Indies at 80 for four.
On her return from injury, Chinelle Henry departed for four from seven balls but in doing so brought Stafanie Taylor, also in her first game since injury, to the crease.
That marked the change in momentum, as the West Indies reached 100 off 94 balls before the first six of the game came from Jahzara Claxton in the next over.
After conceding back-to-back boundaries, Fraser responded by dismissing Claxton for 16, two runs short of her highest T20I score, as Kathryn Bryce held on to the catch in the deep.
That was Scotland’s final wicket as Taylor clattered three sixes, including one off the final ball, to finish on 47 from 19 as the West Indies finished on 153 for six.
CARTER’S FIGHT IN VAIN AS MATTHEWS AND ALLEYNE HIT BACK
Despite needing their biggest chase in T20Is, Scotland got off to a fantastic start as Fraser scored the first boundary of the innings off the second ball.
Carter followed her lead, crunching Dottin for three fours before being dropped on 19 by Joseph.
Scotland were then pegged back as Matthews (3/19) got revenge on Fraser clean bowling her for 20 from 11 and the captain picked up her second wicket two balls later as Kathryn Bryce sent a simple catch to Henry at mid-off for a two-ball duck to leave Scotland on 51 for two.
Sarah Bryce (4) followed her sister’s lead departing cheaply having sent a regulation catch to Dottin as Afy Fletcher got her first wicket.
Megan McColl was the next to be dropped off a high ball, but it mattered little as she departed having added only one run, LBW for Matthews’ third.
Carter needed treatment on her calf for a second time in the innings, but it was the Windies’ Campbelle who went off, with Mandy Mangru replacing her behind the stumps.
Scotland dropped behind the required run rate and were further from their total as Priyanaz Chatterji was caught for eight to slip to 74 for five.
The opener continued to lead the charge, picking up Scotland’s first boundary in seven overs before being dropped again on 42, this time by Stafanie Taylor.
She then brought up her maiden World Cup fifty off 53 balls, before wayward West Indies bowling brought Scotland back into the game.
Lancashire teammates Carter and Ailsa Lister put on 48 before Carter was finally caught by Alleyne off her own bowling for 59 from 68.
Alleyne (3/11) proved destructive also getting Carter for 33, and Kirstie Gordon for a first-ball duck in a crucial 19th over, as Scotland’s resolve ended at 137 for eight.
Needing 17 off the final over, Scotland were eventually dismissed for 146, eight runs short off a famous victory.
Scores in brief
West Indies v Scotland – Headingley, Leeds
West Indies 153/6 in 20 overs (Stafanie Taylor 47 not out, Shemaine Campbelle 36; Katherine Fraser 2/34, Rachel Slater 1/23)
Scotland 146 all out in 20 overs (Darcey Carter 58, Ailsa Lister 33; Aaliyah Alleyne 3/11, Hayley Matthews 3/19)
Result: West Indies win by seven runs
Candy Butcher
The first recorded game was played in 1646.
Palomino
Sport Trivia: Who captained the South African 1992 Olympic squad? Answer: Oscar Chalupsky. Elana Meyer won silver in the 10000m in Barcelona. Malcolm Todd represented South Africa in archery, and Penny Heyns was the youngest member of the squad at just 17. Oscar Chalupsky is a rower/paddler and has been in the limelight in this arena since his first competition in 1979. He placed second in the Molokai World Surf Ski Championship in 2006, at the age of 43.