England opened their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with an 87-run defeat of Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham, after opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge struck 105 not out off 62 balls and the hosts compiled 219 for one.
Wyatt-Hodge hit 14 boundaries — including a long-on six — and shared a 135-run first-wicket partnership with Amy Jones, who made 53 off 38 balls before being caught by captain Chamari Athapaththu off Malki Madara in the 14th over. England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt then joined Wyatt-Hodge and struck an unbeaten 46 from 22 balls with six fours and a six. Wyatt-Hodge brought up her century with a boundary down leg side off the penultimate ball of the innings. Sri Lanka dropped two catching chances during the innings — Kavisha Dilhari on the long-leg boundary against Jones, and Sugandika Kumari off her own bowling.
Sri Lanka were always behind the required rate in their reply. Lauren Bell trapped Vishmi Gunaratne lbw with the first ball of the third over, and Charlie Dean dismissed Athapaththu for four, caught by Wyatt-Hodge. Harshitha Samarawickrama made a brisk 29 with four boundaries before Freya Kemp bowled her to leave Sri Lanka 58 for four. Kemp then took three wickets in four balls in the 13th over — bowling Kaushini Nuthyangana and Kumari first ball after Dulani Dilhari was caught in the deep — to reduce Sri Lanka to 92 for eight. Nilakshika de Silva top-scored with 39 before Sri Lanka were dismissed for 132 in the 20th over. Kemp finished with figures of four for 22 and Dean took two for 18.
The result puts second-ranked England top of Group B, where two of the six teams advance to the semi-finals. Sri Lanka, ranked sixth, named Chamari Athapaththu’s 15-player squad on May 29 ahead of the tournament, and will next face New Zealand at the Hampshire Bowl in a double-header. England play Ireland at the same venue on Tuesday. The tournament — which carries a record prize pool of US$13.88 million and is streamed free on the ICC YouTube channel in countries without local broadcast partners — runs through July 5.
