Wyatt-Hodge helps England turn on the magic as the hosts pile up tournament high score

Hosts England turned on the magic at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 as they fashioned a blockbuster start, piling on a tournament high of 219 for one in the opening match against Sri Lanka in Edgbaston on Friday.

The hosts, thus, overhauled their own record of 213 for five set against Pakistan in 2023.

The architect for the stupendous show was Danni Wyatt-Hodge who set the ball rolling with an unbeaten 105. Carrying that confidence in the field, England dismissed Sri Lanka for 132 for a statement 87-run win.

Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side is not just grappling with the pressure of playing a home World Cup, but also have history to contend with, England women’s team have never lost a World Cup they have hosted, either ODI or T20I.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, were chasing their first title at the World Cup.

After being put into bat, England started cautiously, hitting the accelerator just before the end of powerplay to score 51 for no loss in the first six overs.

A 135-run opening wicket partnership between Amy Jones (53) and Wyatt-Hodge gave them the perfect launchpad. They kept pressing the advantage, making sure they got the quick ones and twos even though the boundaries flowed easily.

Wyatt-Hodge made the most of width

It has been a life-changing month for Wyatt-Hodge, whose partner Georgie gave birth to their first child on May 20. Just a few days later, she came out to score the opening hundred of the World Cup, seventh in the tournament history and only second by an English woman.

Wyatt-Hodge made the most of the width afforded to her.  The English batter brought up the milestone with a sweep for four and put an exclamation on a historic innings for England with another boundary on the final ball.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge ended with 105 off 62 balls with 13 fours and a six. Pics: ICC

That meant, England scored 26 runs from the final over. Carrying her bat through, Wyatt-Hodge ended at 105 off 62, with the help of 13 fours and a six.

Jones was a tad lucky as she was dropped on 12 and then again on 48. She brought up her seventh half-century in T20Is, scoring 53 off 38.

Sri Lanka struggled to hit the spots with the ball and were sloppy in field as well. They finally got a breakthrough in the 14th over as Jones mistimed a delivery by Malki Madara and ended up spooning a catch to Athapaththu at mid-off.

However, that didn’t halt the English juggernaut. Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has recently recovered from injury, played with conviction and innovation to score 46 off 22.

Sri Lanka never got going

Chasing a record target, Sri Lanka never really got going. Talismanic skipper Chamari Athapaththu fell for four in the fourth over, courtesy an incredible catch from wicketkeeper Wyatt-Hodge off Charlie Dean and Sri Lanka slipped to 39 for three in the powerplay.

The only glimmer of hope was Harshitha Samarawickrama, who struck three fours and a six for 29. But Freya Kemp snuffed out the danger, as she got the ball to straighten and get past Samarawickrama’s defence.

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Left-arm pacer Kemp, on a hat-trick at one point, impressed with her intelligent changeups and finished with 4 for 22 in her four overs.

Lower down the order, Nilakshika Silva came up with a gritty 39, the highest score for Sri Lanka on the day, but it was too little too late.

Brief scores: England 219 for one in 20 overs (Amy Jones 53, Danni Wyatt-Hodge 105 not out, Nat Sciver-Brunt 46 not out) beat Sri Lanka 132 in 20 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 29, Nilakshika Silva 39; Freya Kemp 4/22, Charlie Dean 2/18, Sophie Ecclestone 2/27).