Scotland go down fighting against reigning champions

• Darcey Carter (72* from 52) continues her great tournament by carrying her bat on a scorching day in Bristol.

• Melie Kerr takes 3/17 to restrict the Scots to 131/7

• NZ in trouble at 26/3

• Sharpe and Halliday share 100 partnership to secure victory for the White Ferns

• An unlikely set of results would still enable NZ to qualify for the semi-finals

The sun shone brightly on the women’s T20 World Cup in Bristol today as temperatures soared and two teams with much to prove met in this Group B fixture.

Scotland had begun their campaign with a win against Ireland, but their failure to beat the West Indies and last Saturday’s hard-fought defeat to England meant that this game against the reigning World Champions was a must-win.

For New Zealand, the last 10 days have been a huge disappointment. Defeat to the West Indies, followed by a really poor defeat to Sri Lanka left their title defence in ruins before it began, and a narrow win over Ireland can have done little to boost their confidence.

New Zealand invited the Scots to bat. Darcey Carter needed no second invitation and proceeded to bash the White Fern bowlers all over the park, reaching 36 from 21 balls by the end of the 6^th over, including 5 fours and a six smashed off the bowling of Jess Kerr.

However, whilst one Kerr sister was being whacked around, the other Kerr sister responded by bringing herself on to bowl and showing the tight control needed to restrict the Scottish batters. As scoreboard pressure increased, so batters capitulated and gave away their wickets. Since her match winning 60 against Ireland in the opening game, Kathryn Bryce has had a poor run with the bat. It is no coincidence that her scores of 0 (v West Indies), 6 (v England) and 5 (today v New Zealand) were all in games that Scotland lost, so pivotal is she to their batting line-up.

Sarah Bryce stayed alongside Darcey Carter for a while, in a partnership that looked like it might provide the backbone to a sizeable total. However, the younger Bryce sister’s dismissal in the 14^th over came at just the time when Scotland needed to accelerate if they were to reach a score of 150 which would have challenged this New Zealand team.

At the drinks break, Carter looked exhausted, taking on fluids and with an ice pack on her head, but her exertions for the day were not over, as she was to remain at the crease for another six overs, running lots of singles and twos as Scotland strove in vain for a winning total. Melie Kerr bowled a double wicket maiden in the 19^th over and Scotland eventually ended on 131/7 – a total which one would expect the world champions to chase down with comfort.

The chase, however, was not comfortable. Kathryn Bryce and Rachel Slater caused New Zealand all sorts of problems in the powerplay. Slater, Yorkshire’s left arm pace bowler was hooping the ball prodigiously. The ball which clean bowled Sophie Devine was a wonder to behold and completely flummoxed one of the greatest batters of all time. By the end of the powerplay, the Kiwis were 31/3 and in real trouble, which would have been even worse had Sarah Bryce not uncharacteristically dropped an edge behind by Brooke Halliday in the sixth over before the left-hander had scored.

This reprieve allowed Halliday to construct a match-winning partnership with Izzy Sharp. Over the next 12 overs they put on 101 runs and completely took the game away from the Scots, Hannah Rainey and Katherine Fraser were particularly targeted as New Zealand accelerated following the second drinks break. When Sharpe was finally dismissed in the 18^th over, New Zealand were within five runs of victory, which they secured courtesy of a leg-bye with 10 balls to spare.

Plucky defeat is such a cliché when talking about Scottish teams across a range of sports. However, this group are growing and will have become stronger through their participation in this World Cup. Kirstie Gordon spoke in advance of this competition about “multiple wins”, something that can still be achieved when they face Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Friday. I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed it.