After two weeks of brisk, often breath-taking cricket, Scotland’s women pack their kit with mixed feelings. One win from four at the 2026 T20 World Cup looks modest on paper, yet the manner of the defeat to West Indies – seven runs – and New Zealand – six wickets with three balls to spare – hints at a team edging towards genuine upsets. At the heart of that progress sits 20-year-old opener Darcey Carter, suddenly rubbing shoulders with Smriti Mandhana near the top of the tournament run-scorers’ list.
“It’s great to be able to score runs, but at the end of the day, if the team’s not winning, those runs are almost irrelevant for me personally,” Carter said, matter-of-fact, after the Black Caps survived a tense chase in Bristol. “Maybe I could do a bit more to help the team get over the line, but it’s good to be in good form.”
Both of Carter’s half-centuries have come in losses. Crucially, though, they arrived when the Bryce sisters – Kathryn and Sarah, usually Scotland’s bankers – missed out. The squad that looked thin in 2024 suddenly possesses depth: seamers Beth Macaskill and Abi Nicol kept the West Indies to 137, while teenager Iqra Sadiq’s left-arm spin stalled New Zealand’s charge in the powerplay. Margins are shrinking.
“I’m quite pleased that I’ve managed to put on some good scores. The last time I was here, I probably didn’t get as many runs as I would have liked at the last World Cup,” Carter reflected. “And actually just taking a bit of ownership for this team and trying to put us in the best positions possible is really what matters to me most.”
Those words carry weight. In 2024 Scotland lost all four matches by distance, Carter managing 19 runs across the lot. Two years on, the side opened with a composed chase against Ireland – their first win at a global event – and have refused to be bullied since. Ireland, for comparison, remain winless in five editions.
Carter credits experience rather than any magical tweak. Several players squeezed trips to England’s regional competitions over the northern summer; others banked club cricket in Australia. Exposure to higher tempo, she believes, is everything. “Our main goal would probably be to be able to get more cricket in against better ranked teams and get more experience. Then, when we come on the world stage where there’s lots of pressure, we can deal with that a bit better.”
Coach Peter Ross, who watched Scotland men climb the rankings on a similar diet of fixtures, echoes the plea. He points to Cricket Scotland’s slim budget, the cost of winter camps abroad, and the current scarcity of Full-Member opposition. A mooted European tri-series with Netherlands and Ireland later this year would help but, Ross argues, regular home-and-away series are required if Scotland are to close the final, stubborn inches.
Statistically, they are closer than ever. The bowlers’ collective economy rate of 6.9 runs per over sits squarely between West Indies and England. Carter’s strike-rate of 128 is top-ten in the event. What Scotland still lack is the final flurry: they scored only 21 from the last three overs against West Indies and 18 against New Zealand, totals Ross admits were “twenty light”.
“We’re quite proud of how we have held ourselves, and how we’re really giving good competition to these big teams,” Carter said. “There’s probably a bit of disappointment that we’ve maybe not finished the games as well as we would have liked. But to be able to set the games up in that position is probably something we didn’t do when we played last time. So although we’re not get”
The sentence trailed off in the press room, mirroring Scotland’s own unfinished work. Yet the message is plain: progress, yes, but nobody is hanging bunting for narrow defeats.
Next stop is the European qualifier for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Momentum, as any cricketer will remind you, is useful but fragile. Carter, armed with a pair of authoritative half-centuries and a growing reputation for calm under the lights, knows what Scotland need now is not praise but opponents.
Short, sharp series in seaming northern springs; slow turners on winter tours; anything, really, that tests techniques and nerve. Only then will Carter’s runs carry the currency she craves – victories.
