Archive February 1, 2026

Scotland 178-8 (20 overs): Carter 52, Lister 43, Chatterji 39; Norris 3-33

USA 137 (19 overs): Claridge 35; Chatterji 2-11, Abel 2-16, K Bryce 2-29

Scotland win by 41 runs

Scotland booked their place at the Women’s T20 World Cup with a comfortable 41-run win over the United States in the final Super Six qualification game in Nepal.

With the top four going through, the Scots finished third to join Bangladesh, Ireland and the Netherlands at the tournament which is being held in England from 12 June.

Opener Darcey Carter hit 52 as Scotland posted a 178-8 total, with Ailsa Lister adding 43 and Priyanaz Chatterji making 39.

Tara Norris took three wickets for the US, including a rare golden duck for Kathyrn Bryce.

The Scottish skipper shook off the disappointment by removing opener Disha Dhingra in the first over of the Americans’ reply.

History is guaranteed at Emirates Stadium on Sunday as Arsenal host Brazil’s Corinthians in the first Women’s Champions Cup final.

The winners of the new Fifa tournament, which pits continental champions against one another, will claim the biggest single cash prize in women’s club football.

Whoever gets their hands on the trophy will walk away with $2.3m (£1.7m) while the runners-up will gain $1m (£735,000).

Arsenal go into the final as favourites, having booked their place in the title clash by dismantling African champions AS FAR Rabat of Morocco 6-0 on Wednesday.

Brazilian powerhouse Corinthians, meanwhile, progressed in contrasting fashion, shocking North American champions Gotham FC 1-0 in the other semi-final.

For Arsenal, the Champions Cup is a welcome distraction from their Women’s Super League (WSL) campaign that has failed to live up to expectations.

Having secured their first Champions League title in 18 years by stunning European giants Barcelona last May, the Gunners have failed to capitalise on a rare chance as serial winners Chelsea have faltered this season.

Having been knocked out in the League Cup semi-finals by Manchester United, in the Women’s Super League they find themselves 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City, though they moved one point behind Chelsea with a 2-0 win over the defending champions last weekend.

This game offers Arsenal a chance to add an international trophy to their cabinet and boost their morale for the second half of the season – not to mention the massive financial incentive.

Renee Slegers had to manage her squad carefully during the semi-final victory over AS FAR, which came four days after their triumph at Stamford Bridge.

Key stars like Alessia Russo, Emily Fox and Leah Williamson were left out of the starting line-up against the Moroccan side but Arsenal hardly broke a sweat to ease into the decider.

Managing minutes for her stars will be crucial for Slegers again on Sunday, with a massive league meeting against Andree Jeglertz’s City looming next week.

Arsenal may be favourites on home turf, but they face a Corinthians side who know exactly how to win trophies.

Known as Timao, which translates to ‘the Great Team’, they are the undisputed queens of Brazilian football and won the league title seven times, including six in a row between 2020 and 2025.

Their dominance extends across the continent, having qualified for the Champions Cup as the reigning champions of the Copa Libertadores – a tournament they have won five times in the past seven seasons.

Corinthians have already proven their quality by knocking out a star-studded Gotham side who boasted the likes of America legend Rose Lavelle and England defender Jess Carter in their starting line-up.

The winner came from their 40-year-old captain Gabi Zanotti, who beat former Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger in the 83rd minute at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium.

For a South American club, the economics that Champions Cup offers would be transformative.

However, question marks remain over the tournament’s timing with concerns about fixture congestion and player welfare.

“Miller wins it by a hair.”

That line of commentary had a meaning beyond Jarrell Miller’s split-decision win over Kingsley Ibeh at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

In an unusual moment on the undercard of the title fight between Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez, American Miller threw his toupee into the crowd after it was dislodged late in the second round.

The 37-year-old absorbed a flurry of punches that resulted in his head snapping back, causing his hairpiece to lift.

Miller revealed he had lost his natural hair close to the fight because of a poor shampoo choice.

“I get to my mama’s house and I saw some shampoo bottles on the table,” Miller said in a post-fight interview in the ring.

“I shampooed and hit was like ammonium bleach. I literally lost my hair like two days ago.

“So I called my manager and said, ‘Get me one of those manes,’ and I slapped that on real quick.

“It’s funny, man. I’m a comedian and you’ve got to make fun of yourself.”

Once the toupee was removed, Miller gave it to the crowd and began celebrating like he had won the bout, before quickly reverting to fight mode.

“I’ve seen a lot in boxing but I’ve never seen that,” DAZN commentator Chris Mannix added.

Boxer Fabio Wardley posted “don’t worry I’ll keep it safe” with a video of the toupee on the seat beside him, while Skye Nicolson also posed with it on her head.

Miller said he “messed up” in 2019 when he had his fight cancelled with Anthony Joshua because of a failed drugs test.

The writing was quite literally on the wall for Josh Kelly in the days before the biggest fight of his career.

In the aftermath of his victory over Bakhram Murtazaliev to win the IBF light-middleweight title on Saturday, Britain’s Kelly says he was getting signs all week that it would be his night.

Upon checking into his hotel in Newcastle the 2016 Olympian opted for a steam and shower to loosen up – it was there that he saw the five Olympic rings on the mirror in his bathroom.

But the “spooky” signs did not end there.

In the days that followed he got taxis to and from media events. One of the registration plates had the letters PYT – the same initials as the song by Michael Jackson that plays when he walks to the ring.

There was another taxi with the letters NEW. Kelly saw that as a reference to “and the new” – the phrase he heard announced when his arm was raised in the ring to confirm he was the champion.

“I was seeing all these signs and thinking this is just spooky,” said Kelly, who only had a small cut on his cheek despite a gruelling affair.

Saturday’s victory in front of 4,000 vociferous fans, who made the short trip to Newcastle from Sunderland, was the crowning moment of Kelly’s rollercoaster career.

The bout was a microcosm of his 20-fight journey in the ring. It was full of bravery and another tale of overcoming adversity.

Kelly entered the bout as an underdog and was written off by many before he’d even laced up his gloves.

It was not the first time he had been overlooked but unlike five years ago when he suffered a shock defeat and was battling with chronic hypochondria – the condition more formally called illness anxiety disorder – Kelly is now working with a reinforced mindset.

He came out confidently, knowing his coaching team, family and friends all believed he had the ability to prevail.

‘Pretty Boy’ danced around the ring and taunted the previously undefeated Murtazaliev before scoring a knockdown in the fourth round.

Murtazaliev rallied and responded with a knockdown of his own in the ninth but this was also something Kelly had experienced a premonition about.

“I was praying the other day and had a vision of me being knocked down in a round,” Kelly said.

“I got back up and had these different feelings. One of them was that I got sloppy and lost the fight but the other was me getting back to what I do best and seeing through the round.”

Kelly has come a long way from his mental struggles, which dovetailed with difficulties in making the weight when he fought at welterweight.

“I told everyone what I was dealing with at 147lbs (10st 7lb, 6.7kg), especially when it was Covid and I had health anxieties,” Kelly said.

“I was telling my dad I was getting sick when I was in the hotels and always wearing a mask.”

Kelly was tipped as a star of the future when he made his way through the amateur ranks and earned the chance to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics.

In his first 10 fights as a professional, Kelly – who signed with promoter Matchroom – fought on cards at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, London’s O2 Arena and Madison Square Garden in New York.

He was being pushed hard and delivering with winning performances.

But Kelly’s dreams came crashing down after his loss against Avanesyan and he took a 16-month break before returning as a light-middleweight.

“I put Avanesyan to bed a long time ago,” Kelly said. “I just had to believe in myself.”

Matchroom CEO Frank Smith confirmed that Kelly, who only re-signed with the promoter in November, had agreed to fight WBA interim champion Jaron Ennis next if he dispatched with Murtazaliev.

“Josh is in a position where he can take whatever shot he wants,” Smith said.

“Within the next week or so – that’s not a deadline – we need to decide what to do next.”

Unification is also a possibility for Kelly. WBA champion Abass Baraou and WBO title-holder Xander Zayas are set to meet later tonight in Puerto Rico.

While the next opponent remains unclear, his next destination appears to already be decided.

Smith received a text from officials at Kelly’s beloved football team Sunderland in the minutes after his win saying “good win for Josh, let’s do Stadium of Light next”.

The Black Cats have invited Kelly to attend Monday’s Premier League game against Burnley.

“There are plenty of names to fill that stadium,” Kelly said.