Taylor’s 47 and Alleyne’s 19th-over triple seal a 7-run West Indies win over Scotland
Stafanie Taylor’s unbeaten 47 and a three-wicket burst from Aaliyah Alleyne in the 19th over saw West Indies hold off a spirited Scotland by seven runs at Headingley to stay unbeaten.
Jun 19, 2026
Scotland will not get many better chances to claim a marquee scalp at a Women’s T20 World Cup. They had West Indies on the ropes at Headingley on Thursday, only to fall seven runs short in a chase that went to the final ball. The 2016 champions held their nerve, won by seven runs and kept their perfect start to the tournament intact.
West Indies posted 153 for 6, and for long stretches it looked like Scotland would track it down. Set 154 to win, which would have been a record chase for them, they were 132 for 5 with two overs remaining and firmly in the contest. Then the wheels came off.
Taylor rescues the innings
The total owed almost everything to Stafanie Taylor. Left out of the opening win over New Zealand, the veteran all-rounder walked in and counter-punched, finishing unbeaten on 47 from just 19 balls with 34 of those runs coming in boundaries. Without her late surge, West Indies would have left Scotland a far gentler target.
Taylor’s cameo dragged a stuttering innings up to something defendable, and she was named player of the match for it. It was the difference between a total Scotland could chase comfortably and one that asked hard questions in the closing overs.
Alleyne turns the game in the 19th over
The decisive intervention came from Aaliyah Alleyne. With Scotland needing a manageable amount and wickets in hand, the medium-pacer ripped through them in the 19th over, taking three wickets in the space of a few balls. One of them was Darcey Carter, who had played beautifully for 59 and looked like the woman to carry Scotland home.
That over flipped everything. Suddenly Scotland needed 17 off the last six balls with their best batter back in the pavilion, and the equation proved too steep. They kept swinging, but the innings ended on the very last delivery, all out for 146 with the target still in sight.
Two from two for the Caribbean side
It is a second straight win for West Indies, who opened their campaign by beating defending champions New Zealand and now sit unbeaten in Group 2. The manner of it will please them less than the result. They were second best for much of the night and needed two of their most experienced players to bail them out.
For Scotland there is real heartbreak here, but also a marker laid down. Pushing a side of West Indies’ pedigree to the final ball of a World Cup match is no small thing, even if the scoreboard will only record another defeat.