Proud Scotland look ahead after narrow Thailand heartbreak
Scotland take plenty of positives from their campaign at the Emerging Nations Trophy as they get ready for the T20 World Cup Qualifier at the start of 2026.
Scotland have vowed to learn from their performances at the inaugural ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy in Thailand when they try and qualify for the next edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
The Scots went into the final day of the Emerging Nations Trophy in Bangkok on top of the standings and in the box seat to win the first edition of the new ICC event for Associate Nations, but endured a tough final day of the tournament as they suffered a narrow three-wicket loss to eventual champions Thailand.
It saw the side slip from first to fourth in a dramatic climax to the Emerging Nations Trophy event as Thailand claimed the title, but Scotland head coach Craig Wallace still took plenty of positives from the tournament.
“It’s been an excellent tournament for us in a number of ways, firstly in terms of playing together again for the first time since April,” Wallace told Cricket Scotland.
“We’ve played some good cricket across the tour against some very good teams, and it’s been really enjoyable. We’ve had some good moments but then obviously some other moments where we need to improve, such as today.
“All credit to Thailand for the way they showed up today, and for playing well across the tournament, but for us it’s just been excellent to play some high quality cricket again.”
Young Scotland all-rounder Darcey Carter finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 248 runs at an average of 62, while spinner Olivia Bell produced some excellent individual performances that included a stunning five-wicket haul in the title decider against Thailand that almost hauled her side across the line.
Sarah Bryce captained Scotland in Thailand in the absence of regular skipper and sister Kathryn Bryce and she was proud of the efforts from her player as their focus now turns to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal at the start of 2026 when they will attempt to be one of four sides that will qualify for next year’s T20 World Cup.
“It’s obviously a disappointing end to the tournament for us, but I couldn’t be prouder of how we thought right to the end, and we really gave it our best crack, but credit to Thailand, they played really well,” Sarah Bryce said.
“We’ve got so much that we can learn from this tournament, it’s been great that we’ve been here for these seven games and the quad-series beforehand, and we’ll look to work on that going into the qualifier in Nepal.”
Scotland are likely to be boosted by the return of Kathryn Bryce for their T20 World Cup Qualifier campaign and Wallace is excited about what the future holds for the side.
“There are some things that we will look to improve upon before we head to Nepal, but equally there’s been some stuff that I’m really excited about,” said Wallace.
“For us now, it’s about getting home, recovering and then working together to plan and prepare over the next four to six weeks, and then it’s full steam ahead for Nepal.”
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