Women’s World T20 Cup: Danni Wyatt-Hodge century leads England to record win over Sri Lanka

Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Image credit: T20 World Cup) NEW DELHI: Danni Wyatt-Hodge smashed an unbeaten century as hosts England began their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion, beating Sri Lanka by 87 runs in the tournament opener at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.Wyatt-Hodge’s brilliant knock helped England to a record 219/1 – the highest team total in Women’s T20 World Cup history – before their bowlers completed a dominant all-round performance as they made 132 in Sri Lanka.

After Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and elected to field, England’s opening pair of Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt-Hodge laid a perfect platform with a commanding 135-run stand.The home side started cautiously, but picked up the pace brilliantly after the powerplay, scoring 51 for no loss in the first six overs before taking complete control of the match.Jones made the most of the two reprieve as she was dropped for 12 and again for 48, making a fluent 53 off 38 balls to register her seventh T20I half-century.Sri Lanka finally broke through in the 14th over when Jones mistimed Malki Madara to offer a simple catch to Athapaththu at mid-off.

If Jones provided the foundation, Wyatt-Hodge supplied the fireworks.The experienced opener brought up the maiden century of the 2026 Women’s World Cup and only the seventh hundred in the history of the tournament. It was also her first World Cup century and only the second by an England batsman in the competition.Wyatt-Hodge, whose partner Georgie gave birth to their first child on May 20, played a superb innings to finish unbeaten on 105 from 62 deliveries. She hit 13 fours and a six and reached the milestone by moving to the boundary.The right-hander carried the bat through the innings and completed the historic effort with a last-ball boundary.England also finished well, scoring 26 runs in the final – another tournament record.Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt added the finishing touches with an unbeaten 46 from just 22 balls, sharing an unbroken 84-run partnership with Wyatt-Hodge for the second wicket.

Faced with a daunting target of 220, Sri Lanka never managed to gain any meaningful momentum in the chase.Freya Kemp played with the ball and returned impressive figures of 4/22 from her four overs. Charlotte Dean and Sophie Ecclestone chipped in with two goals each, while Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith claimed one each.Sri Lanka struggled against a disciplined England attack and were eventually bowled out for 132, giving the hosts a comprehensive 87-run victory.

England’s 219/1 surpassed the previous highest Women’s T20 World Cup total of 213/5, which was scored by England themselves against Pakistan in 2023.The win also underlined England’s accreditation as one of the title favourites, having started their domestic World Cup campaign in dominant fashion.England next face Ireland on June 16 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, while Sri Lanka face New Zealand on the same day.

Highest Team Total in Women’s T20 World Cup

• 219/1 – ENG-W SL-W, Edgbaston, 2026
• 213/5 – ENG-W vs PAK-W, Cape Town, 2023
• 195/3 – SA-W v THA-W, Canberra, 2020
• 194/5 – IND-W vs NZ-W, Providence, 2018
• 191/4 – AUS-W vs IRE-W, Sylhet, 2014

Most hundreds in Women’s T20Is

• 5 – Esha Oz (UAE-W)
• 3 – Chamari Athapaththu (SL-W)
• 3 – Rebecca Blake (ROM-W)
• 3 – Fatuma Kibasu (TZN-W)
• 3 – Hayley Matthews (WI-W)
• 3 – Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W)
• 3 – Danni Wyatt-Hodge (ENG-W)

Hundreds at the Women’s World T20

• 126 – Meg Lanning (AUS-W) vs IRE-W, Sylhet, 2014
• 112* – Deandra Dottin (WI-W) vs SA-W, Basseterre, 2010
• 108* – Heather Knight (ENG-W) vs THA-W, Canberra, 2020
• 105* – Danni Wyatt-Hodge (ENG-W) v SL-W, Edgbaston, 2026
• 103 – Harmanpreet Kaur (IND-W) vs. NZ-W, Providence, 2018
• 102 – Muneeba Ali (PAK-W) vs IRE-W, Cape Town, 2023
• 101 – Lizelle Lee (SA-W) vs THA-W, Canberra, 2020