West Indies Women vs Scotland Women, 12th Match, Group B, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 - CommentaryWIW vs SCOW, 12th Match, Group B, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

As Kathryn Bryce said after the game, Scotland were really poor in a couple of patches and that ended up costing them. That's T20 cricket. A game can swing in the space of an over and West Indies were better in the key moments. Stafanie Taylor provided the late flourish with the bat, Hayley Matthews struck twice in the sixth over of the chase, and Aaliyah Alleyne's three wickets in the penultimate over sealed the result. Scotland, though, can hold their heads high. In just their second Women's T20 World Cup, they have already beaten Ireland and pushed West Indies right to the brink. They are proving they are far more than just participants, and the other teams in the group will know they cannot afford to take them lightly. That's all from this game. Until next time, goodbye and stay safe..

Matthews (2/2): (How are the injuries and stuff going forward?) Yeah, well Campbelle, it was just a case where she's been sick from this morning, I think. She was 50-50 on even playing today due to her sickness. It was really good for her to come out pretty much today and then, yeah, Chin's obviously someone that we've got to manage over the next few matches. But yeah, definitely got to get her on the physio bed, put some work in before the next one. (Dottin got very emotional and the tears started flowing. Talk us through that scenario) Yeah, she's someone who's passionate and she's someone who cares a lot and she's extremely competitive. So when she gets in situations like that, she always wants to put her hands up and do it for the team. And obviously she was a bit unlucky today, I think, with how some things went. And I think because she cares so much, it breaks her when she can't do what she wants for the team. So I think it was really good to see everyone get around her and support her. But we got full faith that she's going to bounce back next match. (Your thoughts on the Sri Lanka game?) Yeah, I think every match in the World Cup is going to be super important. I think today showed that you can't take any team lightly at all. So coming up against Sri Lanka, team that just beat New Zealand. We know it's going to be a very crucial matchup, I think, for how the table is going to look after the first three matches. So certainly a must-win game for us, but we're going to have to be at our best and probably a bit better than today for that.

Hayley Matthews | West Indies captain: (1/2) (Heartbeat gone down?) No, it's still a bit fast, I reckon. Obviously a very, very close game there. One that went right to the end, so a lot of nerves going around. But yeah, glad that we got over the line. (What were the challenges in the first 15 overs of your batting?) Yeah, I thought they bowled some really good areas. I felt like they certainly cramped for room, and I think probably myself and a few of the others struggled to go for different options. But yeah, I think Steph coming in at the back end there really was able to make a difference and doing so by playing some classical cricket shots. So it was really good to see her in that form. (How pleasing was Taylor's knock?) It was really good to see. A slightly different role for her, not used to coming in in the last five overs, but I think she's such a versatile player and has a lot of experience and, yeah, I guess, knows what to go to when she is under pressure or when the team needs something big. So it was great to see her play the way she did. But yeah, just be thinking of trying to accelerate a bit earlier with some of the other batters going in, but good to see her not take it to heart and just go out there and do her thing regardless. (At what stage did you realise that spin was going to be as big a factor?) I think probably from the time we batted. We noticed that spin was probably the key to go with. Obviously searching for a bit of swing with the new ball there, but wanted to get it spin in the game as early as possible after those first few overs for sure.

Bryce (2/2): (On the knocks from Carter and Lister) She (Carter) really battled through there. I think the way she started up top was fantastic and she really fought hard throughout the innings. Then the intent that Ailsa came in with was phenomenal and just gave us a chance in those last few overs. (On their efforts and also the support of their fans) It means so much. I think the pain that people are feeling right now shows that we were in that game and in the fight. When we reflect on that, I think that'll be really special. Obviously it hurts a lot right now, but I think that comes from giving yourself a chance, playing a lot of really good cricket, and believing that you should be on the winning side of that game. (On their next game against England) Really looking forward to it. The fans have been out in full force today and there was a lot of noise out there. I think there's going to be even more people in on Saturday night and it's going to be absolutely fantastic.

Kathryn Bryce | Scotland captain: (1/2)(On West Indies reaching the 150-run mark) Yeah, I think at the start of the day, I probably would have taken chasing that 150 total, but I think from the position that we got them in, probably just let it slip a little bit towards the end. (On what led the game to slip away from them) I think we'd been really on it with our lines and lengths and probably just mis-executed a couple of times. That probably had a knock-on effect on the fielding as well, and that probably cost us in those last few overs. (On their good opening partnership) Yeah, they were absolutely fantastic up top and really took on the game. They set us up well to be able to chase that total. We probably just had a couple of patches where we were really poor, but apart from that, I think we played a lot of good cricket. (On their struggle against spin) Yeah, I think they really took the pace off and were very clever with the way they bowled. I think we really struggled through that period to find the boundary and also rotate the strike. That put us under a bit of pressure going into the last six overs.

Stafanie Taylor | Player of the Match: (On her comeback after injury) Yeah, good to be back. I've never really felt good being on the sidelines. One, I get too nervous watching the game, so I like to be out there. It's nice to actually be fit coming into this game. (On her thought process when she came into bat) Well, I was due to bat at five, but because of the situation, we kind of bumped persons up just to get the tempo going. That never really happened, so I ended up coming in at number seven. I had to just go. For me, it's about picking the areas where I actually want to hit those boundaries. I said to the person I was batting with that if we could get one boundary every over or two, that could put us in a good state. (On picking her areas while batting) Well, I must commend the coach, Shane Deitz. We did a lot of work on my technique and how he actually wants me to access both sides of the wicket. We did a lot of work over the last couple of months or so. Every time I get a break, I just hit the nets. I send footage back to him and make sure that I'm doing the right thing, and he's quite happy with that. That being said, accessing the off side a bit more means I can then access the leg side. It's about giving myself more areas where I can play my shots. (On her emotions) Oh my God, I think I probably cursed at Rama (Ramharack), so she's going to give it to me later on. But it's just in the heat of the game. We wanted to win this game. We took it one step at a time and tried not to get too far ahead. This game was really important for us. Last year, when we played Scotland in the qualifiers, they got the better of us. So it's nice that we actually won this game.

But West Indies held their nerve when it mattered most. Aaliyah Alleyne delivered a superb penultimate over, picking up three wickets, including both set batters, to swing the game decisively back in her side's favour. The emotions at the end told the story of how much this match meant. There were tears on both sides. Deandra Dottin, during an expensive 18th over, looked overcome with emotion, while Carter could not hide her disappointment as she sat in the dugout following her dismissal. This was one of the games of the tournament so far, a contest that ebbed and flowed throughout and could easily have gone either way. In the end, West Indies held their nerve in the key moments to make it two wins from two and take a significant step towards a top two finish.

21:57 Local Time, 20:57 GMT, 02:27 IST: Scotland will look back at this as a golden opportunity missed. They were in complete control early on, racing to 51 without loss inside five overs as the boundaries flowed freely and West Indies looked rattled in the field, putting down a couple of chances. But the game turned dramatically in Hayley Matthews' second over. The West Indies captain struck twice, including the prized wicket of Kathryn Bryce and suddenly the momentum shifted. What followed was a collapse. Scotland slipped from 51/0 to 74/5 as Matthews and Afy Fletcher tightened the screws through the middle overs, sharing five wickets between them. Just when it seemed the chase was slipping away, Darcey Carter and Alisa Lister staged a fine recovery. Carter, who had twisted her ankle in the fourth over but carried on bravely, produced a fighting half-century, while Lister played the perfect supporting role. Their 50-plus partnership for the sixth wicket dragged Scotland back into the contest and set up a tense finish.

Qiana Joseph to Gabriella Fontenla, THATS OUT!! Run Out!!

Qiana Joseph to Rachel Slater, THATS OUT!! Caught!!