LEEDS, England (AP) — The West Indies overcame Scotland by seven runs and stayed unbeaten at the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup after a madcap match at Headingley on Thursday.
Scotland needed 154 to win, a record chase, and was in it at 132-5 with two overs left.
Then medium-pacer Aaliyah Alleyne came to the West Indies' rescue. She took three wickets in the 19th over, including Darcey Carter on 59. Scotland required 17 off the last over and was all out on the last ball for 146.
Only the West Indies and England were two for two in Group 2, with the top two making the semifinals.
Scotland had the West Indies on the ropes in both innings. Tight bowling and fielding reduced the West Indies to 124-6 after 18 overs. But another veteran, Stafanie Taylor, who missed the West Indies' opening win over defending champion New Zealand, rescued the batting effort.
Her unbeaten 47 off 19 balls with 34 runs in boundaries lifted her side to a competitive 153-6 total. West Indies added 29 off the last two overs, 26 by Taylor.
Katherine Fraser starred in the field for Scotland with two wickets, including bowling Hayley Matthews, a leaping catch on the boundary, and a run out of Shemaine Campbelle on 36.
Fraser and Carter then gave Scotland a brilliant flying start to the chase. But West Indies fought back with four wickets in 13 balls into the eighth over, and Scotland's run rate dropped below the required run rate for the first time.
Carter injured her leg in the fourth over and was dropped on 19. Struggling to run, she didn't hit a boundary after the fifth over until the 18th. Scotland went nearly five overs without a boundary.
But Scotland stayed in the game thanks to poor bowling and fielding. It took Alleyne to provide relief.
On Friday, Ireland plays New Zealand.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Scotland's Darcey Carter bats during the Women's T20 World Cup match between Scotland and West Indies in Leeds, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
Scotland's Katherine Fraser celebrates the wicket of West Indies' Hayley Matthews during the Women's T20 World Cup match between Scotland ad West Indies in Leeds, England, Thursday June 18, 2026. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
West Indies' Stafanie Taylor batting during the Women's T20 World Cup match between Scotland and West Indies in Leeds, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — The USGA set up a different golf course at Shinnecock Hills to keep it playable in strong wind. And when the wind subsided late Thursday afternoon, Wyndham Clark looked like he was playing a different U.S. Open.
Clark seized on a more gentle course — slightly calmer and still soft with receptive greens — by pulling away late to reach 6-under par through 16 holes.
He left in darkness with a four-shot lead over seven players, one of them Oklahoma junior Ryder Cowan, another one the surprisingly resurgent Dustin Johnson.
Rory McIlroy thought he had made a fine effort to shoot 69 in gusts that topped 30 mph in the middle of the day, when the scoring average was well above 74. The afternoon started tough until the wind kept subsiding, and players began taking aim at flags. The afternoon wave was playing at least a stroke easier than the early starters who faced relentless wind.
Cowan birdied his last hole for a 68 to join former Sooner Max McGreevy and former Oklahoma State player Sam Stevens, the only one of that trio who faced the harsh wind of the morning wave.
Johnson, in his final year of being exempt from the U.S. Open he won at Oakmont in 2016, ran off four straight birdies and was tied with Clark after 13 holes. But Johnson failed to get up-and-down for birdie on the easy par-5 fifth, where Clark made eagle. And then Johnson three-putted from short range for double bogey on the sixth to fall four shots behind.
Scottie Scheffler, who needs the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam, battled all day and relied heavily on his short game to salvage a 72. It was his 10th consecutive U.S. Open round without breaking par, but at the time it left him only four shots out of the lead.
Clark, who won the U.S. Open in Los Angeles three years ago, changed the look of the leaderboard. He was to return Friday morning to complete the round, then head out for the second round in wind expected to be not as strong.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Dustin Johnson hits from the fairway on the third hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Wyndham Clark hits from the fairway on the third hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the fairway on the 14th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Lucas Herbert hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Scottie Scheffler hits from the rough on the fourth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Sam Stevens plays on the eighth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jackson Suber hits from the fairway on the first hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A sign on the third hole shows play was suspended during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Matthew Jordan off the green after play was suspended during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Chase Kyes lines up a putt on the first hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
