Danni Wyatt-Hodge scored a masterful century as England thrashed Sri Lanka to open their account in style at the home Women’s T20 World Cup.
In the final over of the first innings, Wyatt-Hodge played a ball through fine leg to bring up three figures before running down the wicket, fist-pumping and then cradling her bat in honour of her newborn baby, Daisy.
“I think I was on about 90 and I was like, ‘I could get a hundred now, and do it for Daisy’,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “Once I saw it pierce the gap and go for four you could see from the celebration, I was chuffed to get that third hundred [for England].
“I said to Nat [Sciver-Brunt] that it was really nice to celebrate with her out there in the middle. Two mummies. I got a bit nervous with the crowd at the end, but it’s a really special moment.”
England had been under pressure coming into the tournament, having won every World Cup they had hosted before, but as they put on 219 for one – a record score in a women’s T20 World Cup – in the first innings, they could not have made a more perfect start.
They went on to secure an 87-run win after bowling Sri Lanka out for 132 while the sky was still more blue than black in front of just under 15,000 fans at Edgbaston.
If you believe in fate – and sportspeople are known to be a superstitious bunch – the opening act of this tournament could pave the way to glory in a few weeks’ time. The team who went on to win the 2017 World Cup – the last women’s tournament to be held in England – attended Wicked ahead of the final and performers from the West End musical took to a stage in the early evening sunshine at Edgbaston.
Then it was over to the performers on the pitch. Having spoken in endless interviews about wanting to have their own Lionesses or Red Roses moment, it is down to the players to make that dream a possibility – and they certainly looked convincing in this opener.
Sri Lanka were never going to be the toughest test this team will face, but T20 cricket is known for its upsets more than any other format and England have previously been prone to collapses.
Amy Jones, opening for the first time in an official T20 for six years, might count herself lucky having been dropped on 12 and 48, but it was her opening partnership with Wyatt-Hodge that gave England the platform for victory.
England’s mammoth opening stand came to an end when Jones was caught at mid-on for a well-worked 53 from 38 and her side 136 for one, having brought up the century in less than 10 overs.
England’s fielding has been scrutinised and criticised over the last two years, including one fateful day in the Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where eight catches went down. But at Edgbaston, it was Sri Lanka who failed in the field when under pressure.
As well as the two drops from Jones, Sciver-Brunt was dropped on 14, with her side 171 for one, while there were numerous shies at the stumps that almost led to overthrows. By the end of the innings, England had brought up the highest score in a Women’s T20 World Cup, eclipsing their own record set at the 2023 edition when they scored 213 for five against Pakistan in Cape Town.
Sri Lanka had a mountain to climb, and it would have taken a significant contribution by their captain Chamari Athapaththu, who is higher in the International Cricket Council rankings than all but two of England’s batters.
However, when she was caught by a brilliant effort from Wyatt-Hodge for just four runs, England’s victory felt even more inevitable. That only inspired the hosts further and then Freya Kemp came to the fore.
Kemp had not bowled for 15 months before the intra-squad series in Pretoria over the winter as she continued to recover from a second back-stress fracture, but her talent has been obvious to the national selectors since she burst onto the scene aged 17.
Against Sri Lanka with ball in hand, Kemp was deadly, taking four for 19 in three overs, including three in a single over, and finishing as the pick of the bowlers.
England’s fielding looked sharp, with the work put in during the three camps over the winter in the 193 days without a competitive international match paying off.
There were a couple of missed opportunities from Wyatt-Hodge, who could not avoid being in the centre of the action at Edgbaston. First was a one-handed sprawling effort and then she dropped a second one with Sri Lanka already reeling at 90 for five, running backwards and trying to take the ball over her shoulder.
You could say it was a wicked start for England at this home World Cup.
Players deliver but scheduling puts T20 World Cup on back foot
As the cast of Wicked performed their critically acclaimed Defying Gravity number, swathes of empty seats around Edgbaston were visible in the evening sun. After the wizards and witches clambered off stage to take their seats in the stands adjacent to the media centre, an untimely sight screen issue resulted in a five-minute delay to the start of play. It was as if a spell had been cast over the pitch and the players, who were already in their positions, were momentarily frozen in time.
This was not how the T20 Women’s World Cup was supposed to start. Never mind gravity, organisers were struggling to defy an early operational calamity.
Once Sri Lanka’s Malki Madara was given the green light to bowl the first ball and get the party started, the scoreboard in the far corner of the ground began showing the wrong number of overs remaining. After so much anticipation, it was, frankly, amateur hour. It is hard to envisage a men’s match of such magnitude being beset with teething problems.
England, to their immense credit, responded by belting out their own brilliant performance to open their World Cup in style. While their one-sided victory was thoroughly impressive, they know sterner tests will lie ahead.
It was a performance worthy of a sell-out crowd, the sort that has become normalised across the English women’s sport landscape at major tournaments in recent years. The attendances at the Lionesses’ opening Euros match at Old Trafford in 2022 and at the Red Roses’ World Cup opener at the Stadium of Light last year comfortably surpassed the 14,865 who basked in the balmy Birmingham sunshine here. The build-up to this tournament has been underpinned by the possibility of this England team emulating the successes of their sporting sisters, but as opening nights go, the fever-pitch notes are yet to be struck.
In cricket’s defence, most football and rugby stadiums have a greater seating capacity, but for a team of established professionals, albeit one that has perennially underperformed as an England collective at major tournaments since that watershed trophy lift at Lord’s in 2017, this should have been packed to the rafters. If this is telling of the regard in which Charlotte Edwards’s team are currently held, they have a glorious chance to prove the doubters wrong over the next few weeks.
The choice of the location for this grand opener was also curious given it was played in the shadow of a heavy-duty crane suspending breeze blocks above a pocket of the Edgbaston ground that is being upgraded into a hotel (naturally this will be completed in time for next year’s men’s Ashes). On this occasion, it was nothing more than an eyesore.
The scale of the challenge could not be clearer. This is a tournament already jostling for airtime and column inches against the backdrop of a men’s Fifa World Cup, albeit without the extortionate ticket pricing, merciless geographical spread and enforced water breaks. In truth, it was always going to struggle against the biggest and most watched tournament in global sport. But the fact the ICC chose to shoehorn it into the school term time will hardly help its cause, particularly when you consider there are several midweek matches featuring non-home nations teams to fill. August may have been the optimum time to run the tournament but, of course, that is where the Hundred now sits in the summer of English cricket.
These logistical considerations were on the ICC’s list of controllables, unlike the untimely narratives made by Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson which dominated English cricket’s news agenda this week. Organisers are going to have to roll with the punches.
And still, there were glimmers of hope that this tournament does have the potential to capture the public’s imagination. As England motored through the runs, helmed by Danni Wyatt-Hodges’ exquisite 105, Edgbaston began to come alive. It was followed by a comprehensive bowling performance, spearheaded by Freya Kemp’s immense four-wicket haul to the point that the crowd began cheering during her run-up, an apt soundtrack to end the evening. It might be a while before this World Cup reaches its crescendo, but logistical issues aside, at least England are already up and running in fine fashion.
Nat Sciver-Brunr’s reaction
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Massive. What a way to start, the first innings especially. Danni and Amy looked so composed and built a huge platform.
Danni had me running from the first ball! I’m really happy to be back in the middle; it was really fun.
We thought about the game in a really good way. It’s a massive win for us and I’m really happy that first game is done.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu’s reaction
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We didn’t play our best cricket in all three departments. We need to improve and play positive cricket with the bat.
The next game is against New Zealand. We need to go back to the classroom and decide what we need to do.
The player of the match is Danni Wyatt-Hodge
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It was great fun out there. What a crowd and what a start.
[On her baby-rocking celebration] That was for Daisy, I hope the TV got it!
We said how important it was to start well and we did that tonight. Off to Southampton we go to play Ireland.
England win by 87 runs
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That’s a cracking statement of intent from England. They made the highest total at a T20 Women’s World Cup, 219/1, and took care of business in the field. Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s unbeaten 105 was an emphatic highlight.
Wicket!
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Madara c Jones b Ecclestone 1 Madara gets a thin edge to the keeper and is given out on review. England have started their World Cup with a near-perfect performance. FOW: 132 all out
Wicket!
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Nilakshika c Capsey b Ecclestone 31 Nilakshika swipes Ecclestone to long-on, where Capsey takes a comfortable catch. FOW: 131/9
OVER 19: SL 127/8 (Nilakshika 33 Madara 7)
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No five-for for Freya Kemp, but she finishes with career-best figures of 4-0-21-4. Her bowling will be so important in the next few weeks.
OVER 18: SL 125/8 (Nilakshika 32 Madara 6)
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Nilakshika carts Smith over long on for six and is now Sri Lanka’s top scorer. Two overs remaining.
OVER 17: SL 114/8 (Nilakshika 23 Madara 4)
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Nilakshika smashes a slower ball back at Bell, who reaches up and gets a slight touch before it bursts through. Very tough chance.
An over full of slower balls costs only four.
OVER 15: SL 105/8 (Nilakshika 16 Madara 2)
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Madara has a swish and a miss at Kemp’s hat-trick ball. No matter, this is still a landmark day for Kemp, who had never previously taken more than two wickets in an innings for England. She’s still only 21, which is hard to believe given how long she’s been around, but she is such a vital part of this team with bat and ball.
She almost gets a fifth wicket when a hack from Nilakshika teases backward point before landing safely.
OVER 14: SL 99/8 (Nilakshika 12 Madara 1)
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Seven from Linsey Smith’s over, all in ones and twos. Time for drinks.
OVER 13: SL 92/8 (Nilakshika 6 Madara 0)
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The record T20 Women’s World Cup victory is by 114 runs; that was England v Pakistan in 2023.
Wicket!
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Dasanayaka b Kemp 0 Make that 4/13! Dasanayaka has been bowled first ball and Kemp will be on a hat-trick at the start of her next over. FOW: 92/8
Wicket!
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Kaushini b Kemp 0 Another one for Freya Kemp. She wasn’t sure it was out, but she beat Kaushini with a fine delivery that clipped the bails. Kemp has 3/13 and England are cruising. FOW: 92/8
Wicket!
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Dilhari c Smith b Kemp 19 After being dropped off the previous ball, another tough chance to Wyatt-Hodge, Dilhari drags a slower ball from Kemp to deep square leg. FOW: 92/6
OVER 12: SL 90/5 (Dilhari 17 Nilakshika 6)
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A good over from Dean, six from it.
OVER 11: SL 84/5 (Dilhari 13 Nilakshika 4)
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Dilhari offers a sharp caught-and-bowled chance that is dropped by Gibson. She had to leap and take it one-handed, so it wasn’t easy, but I guess she’d take it seven times out of 10. Dilhari swipes a classy boundary over mid-on later in the over, and why not.
Sri Lanka need 136 off nine overs, aka snookers.
OVER 10: SL 77/5 (Dilhari 7 Nilakshika 3)
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A boundaryless over from Sophie Ecclestone. Time for drinks.
OVER 9: SL 69/5 (Dilhari 1 Nilakshika 1)
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Wyatt-Hodge’s night out - cricket parlance - comes to an end when she drops Nilakshika Silva at backward point off Kemp. A pretty tough chance to her right.
Wicket!
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Samarawickrama b Kemp 29 Samarawickrama launches Freya Kemp’s first ball over midwicket for six. That’s some shot - but later in the over she plays down the wrong line and is cleaned up. That’s a nice moment for Kemp, whose bowling is really important to England’s chances in this World Cup. FOW: 67/5
OVER 8: SL 58/4 (Samarawickrama 21 Dilhari 0)
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Dean has figures of 2-0-12-2.
Wicket!
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Karunaratne LBW b Dean 11 Two wickets for Charlie Dean. Karunaratne whips across the line, misses and is given out LBW. The only doubt was on point of contact but Sri Lanka decide not to review. FOW: 58/4
OVER 7: SL 52/3 (Samarawickrama 18 Karunaratne 7)
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Dani Gibson comes into the attack and is pulled round the corner for four by Karunaratne. It was in the air for a while but landed short of Lauren Bell running round the boundary. A deft steer from Samarawickrama brings four more; she’s playing quite superbly.
OVER 6: SL 39/3 (Samarawickrama 12 Karunaratne 2)
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Since you asked, England’s next game is against Ireland on Tuesday.
Assuming they win tonight, their semi-final place will likely depend on matches against West Indies (24 June) and New Zealand (27 June).
Wicket!
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Dulani c Kemp b Smith 7 Dulani clouts a sweep towards square leg and is smartly caught by Freya Kemp. Linsey Smith has her first wicket of the World Cup, and England are enjoying the perfect opening night. FOW: 37/3
OVER 5: SL 37/2 (Dulani 7 Samarawickrama 12)
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Samarawickrama is in outstanding form this year and has started her innings accordingly. She moves into double figures by waving Sophie Ecclestone through extra cover for a high-class boundary.
Ecclestone responds impressively by inducing a false stroke and then beating the bat.
OVER 4: SL 28/2 (Dulani 4 Samarawickrama 6)
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The new batter Harshitha Samarawickrama guides Dean to the cover boundary.
Wicket!
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Athapaththu c Wyatt-Hodge b Dean 4 In cricket parlance, Danni Wyatt-Hodge is having a night out. She has just taken a sensational running catch to dismiss the Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu. When Atapaththu slog-swept Charlie Dean’s second ball high in the air, Wyatt-Hodge charged back from square leg and reached forward to take an outstanding catch. She slightly misjudged the flight of the ball, which made the catch even better because she had to reach a long way from her body. FOW: 22/2
OVER 3: SL 22/1 (Athapaththu 4 Dulani 4)
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The new batter Imesha Dulani times a short ball from Bell through extra cover for four, a really elegant stroke.
In case you missed it, here’s Fiona Tomas’s excellent interview with Lauren Bell, England’s attack leader and Instagram millionaire.
Wicket!
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Gunaratne LBW b Bell 6 Lauren Bell has her first wicket of the World Cup. Spoiler alert: it won’t be her last. Gunaratne walked too far across, couldn’t get round her front pad and was trapped LBW. There was a potential doubt over height, which is why she reviewed, but it was hitting middle three-quarters of the way up. FOW: 14/1
OVER 2: SL 14/0 (Gunaratne 6 Athapaththu 3)
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Linsey Smith, the No1 bowler in the T20 world rankings, will take the new ball as always. Athapaththu plays two superb lofted shots - except they both plug in the outfield so she gets only three runs for the pair.
Five from the over, no boundaries.
OVER 1: SL 9/0 (Gunaratne 4 Athapaththu 0)
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Lauren Bell starts with three dot balls before Vishmi Gunaratne nails a square drive for four. After a fumble from Amy Jones gives Sri Lanka a bye, Bell strays onto the pads of the left-handed Chamari Athapaththu; four leg-byes are the result.
Time for the runchase
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While it’s hard to see Sri Lanka chasing 220, the pitch is extremely good so England’s bowlers will be tested.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s reaction
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I still can’t believe it. There were a few nerves around but we really wanted to start well and we did.
Amy [Jones] has been batting really well lately. She’s so chill and calm; she doesn’t really say much.
A special moment for Wyatt-Hodge
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The atmosphere has gone up a notch as a huge roar erupts around Edgbaston as Danni Wyatt-Hodge brings up her century. She shares a warm embrace with Nat Sciver-Brunt before rocking her cricket bat like a baby in a tribute to her newborn daughter, Daisy. What a special moment. After the teething problems we witnessed earlier on an operational front, England have more than done a job with the bat. It feels like they’ve won this match already.
Sri Lanka need 220 to win
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At the end of the innings a number of England players came onto the field to embrace Danni Wyatt-Hodge, including Sophia Dunkley. She must be devastated after being dropped - she hoped to be opening with DWH today - and there was a lovely warmth to that gesture.
Wyatt-Hodge made 105 from 62 balls, the second highest score by an England player at a Women’s World Cup, with Nat Sciver-Brunt adding a perky 46 from 22.
OVER 20: ENG 219/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 105 Sciver-Brunt 46)
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A no-ball from Madara gives Sciver-Brunt a free hit, which she clatters for four to bring up the 200. She tops that by making room to drive elegantly over wide mid-off for six. That’s a gorgeous shot, the best of the innings.
A single brings Wyatt-Hodge back on strike. She’s on 97, two balls remaining, and England need four to make the highest-ever score a T20 Women’s World Cup.
Wyatt-Hodge takes care of both milestones in one hit, walking across to drag a boundary past short fine leg! What an innings: 61 balls, 12 fours, one six. She celebrates again by rocking her bat in tribute to her first child Daisy James. She’s the seventh player to score a century at a Women’s T20 World Cup after Deandra Dottin, Meg Lanning, Harmanpreet Kaur, Heather Knight, Lizelle Lee and Muneeba Ali. It’s a lovely moment for a late-blooming and now quite brilliant cricketer.
After Madara bowls a wide, Wyatt-Hodge clouts the last ball of the innings over mid-off for four. England have started their home World Cup in some style.
OVER 19: ENG 193/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 96 Sciver-Brunt 33)
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Sciver-Brunt premeditates the deftest of ramps for four off Ayodhya, then makes room to ping the next ball to the right of mid-off for another boundary. Pure class.
She’s only just back from injury but there are no signs whatsoever of rust. A wave through extra cover for four takes her to 33 from just 18 balls.
It also makes her England’s leading runscorer at T20 World Cups with 771 runs. She surpasses, yep, her coach Charlotte Edwards on 768.
OVER 18: ENG 175/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 95 Sciver-Brunt 17)
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Sciver-Brunt hoicks Dasanayaka towards deep midwicket and is dropped by Nilakshika, an awkward chance on the run.
A decent over from Sri Lanka, in that there were no boundaies, though England score off every ball. Wyatt-Hodge is five away from a memorable century.
OVER 17: ENG 168/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 93 Sciver-Brunt 13)
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Sciver-Brunt sweeps Athapaththu for four. Only one team has made 200 at a Women’s T20 World Cup, England against Pakistan in 2023; it’ll be a surprise if England don’t get there tonight.
Tougher tests await - duh - but this is an outstanding start. Don’t forget that Sri Lanka won 2-1 in their last T20 series in England three years ago.
OVER 16: ENG 160/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 90 Sciver-Brunt 8)
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When Wyatt-Hodge sweeps Kaveesha behind square, Sciver-Brunt tests her injured calf by charging back for a third. She’s dropped next ball, a tough chance to the keeper Kaushini standing up.
Wyatt-Hodge takes two more to break her coach Charlotte Edwards’ record for the highest score by an England opener at a Women’s T20 World Cup. Only Heather Knight has made a higher score in any position, 108 I think. Wyatt-Hodge moves closer to that with a thump through extra-cover for four and a whipped pull to the square-leg boundary.
This is some statement of intent from England.
OVER 15: ENG 146/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 77 Sciver-Brunt 7)
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Ayodhya nails five yorkers in a row, a mini-masterclass - but her last ball is a low full toss that Sciver-Brunt times imperiously through extra-cover for four.
OVER 14: ENG 138/1 (Wyatt-Hodge 71 Sciver-Brunt 1)
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The England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt comes to the crease.
Wicket!
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Jones c Athapaththu b Madara 53 This is England’s highest opening partnership at a T20 World Cup. Or rather, it was: Jones mistimes Madara to mid-off and is well caught by Athapaththu. She made 53 from 38 balls, a really good innings that justified the tough decision to exclude Sophia Dunkley. FOW: 135/1
OVER 13: ENG 132/0 (Jones 52 Wyatt-Hodge 70)
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Fast feet from Wyatt-Hodge, who charges down the pitch to lash Kaveesha over point for four. She’s making it look effortless to score at a strike rate of 165 when it is anything but.
Sri Lanka looking rusty
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The Eric Hollies Stand – the pocket of Edgbaston which is currently bathed in sun – looks a bit fuller now and the crowd are enjoying this solid opening partnership between Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones. The duo have done little wrong so far. England are motoring into a commanding innings, but Sri Lanka have looked a bit rusty at times in the field.
OVER 12: ENG 122/0 (Jones 50 Wyatt-Hodge 63)
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It’s in the nature of liveblogs to describe boundaries rather than ones and twos, but we should say that England’s running between the wickets has been terrific.
No time to dwell on that because Jones has just made room to blast Dasanayaka through extra cover for four. The next ball is chipped back to the bowler and dropped in instalments. She spilled the first chance and couldn’t quite compose herself to hold it at the second or third attempt.
Jones takes advantage to work a single to long-on and bring up a polished 34-ball fifty. You feel for Sophia Dunkley, left out at the last minute, but England could not have asked for more from these two.
OVER 11: ENG 113/0 (Jones 42 Wyatt-Hodge 62)
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Jones sweeps Nilakshika for six to continue England’s outstanding start. The highest score in a Women’s T20 World Cup is England’s 213/5 against Pakistan in South Africa three years ago. That record may not hold for long.
OVER 10: ENG 101/0 (Jones 34 Wyatt-Hodge 58)
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Wyatt-Hodge chips Athapaththu over cover for four to bring up a classy fifty from 32 balls. She celebrates with a gentle baby-rocking motion in tribute to her young Daisy James, who was born last month.
And then she celebrates again by launching the first six of the World Cup over long-on to bring up the hundred partnership. She has gone under the radar, partly because she’s been on maternity leave, but the best version of this England team includes a lot of runs from Wyatt-Hodge. She could have the time of her professional life in the next few weeks.
OVER 9: ENG 86/0 (Jones 33 Wyatt-Hodge 44)
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An excellent over from the experienced seamer Nilakshika Silva. Just four singles from it, and two of them were pretty tight.
OVER 8: ENG 82/0 (Jones 31 Wyatt-Hodge 42)
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The offspinner Kaveesha Dilhari gets her first bowl. Wyatt-Hodge launches four through point, then hoicks another boundary to deep square leg. Dulani, who dropped Jones earlier in the innings, ran too far across and was done by the spin.
Wyatt-Hodge completes a very good over with a deliberate sweep over short fine leg. She’s playing beautifully and has 42 from 26 balls.
OVER 7: ENG 69/0 (Jones 30 Wyatt-Hodge 30)
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A poor over from Dasanayaka disappears for 18. There were four wides, a belt through midwicket for four from Jones and then a no-ball that allowed Jones to smash the free hit down the ground for four more.
There’s nothing in the pitch so England should be looking for a huge score, perhaps 200+.
OVER 6: ENG 51/0 (Jones 20 Wyatt-Hodge 28)
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Back comes the roundarm swing bowler Ayodhya, who apparently has the lowest release point ever recorded in the women’s game. A wide bring up the fifty partnership from 37 deliveries, after which Wyatt-Hodge takes a very tight single to mid-off. She dived to make her ground but the throw missed anyway.
OVER 5: ENG 46/0 (Jones 17 Wyatt-Hodge 27)
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Madara returns to the attack. Her first two balls are hit for four by Wyatt-Hodge; the first over cover, the second cut deftly past backward point.
Wyatt-Hodge ends the over with another boundary, crashed square on the off side. She’s off to a flyer and has 27 from 17 balls.
OVER 4: ENG 32/0 (Jones 14 Wyatt-Hodge 16)
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More left-arm spin from the captain Athapaththu. After five singles, Jones slog-sweeps towards deep backward square, where the ball bursts through the hands of Imesha Dulani and goes for four. It was a tough chance, but a chance nonetheless.
OVER 3: ENG 23/0 (Jones 10 Wyatt-Hodge 11)
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Sugandika Dasanayaka, a Linsey Smithish left-arm slow bowler, comes into the attack. Wyatt-Hodge skips down the track to lift three over cover; it would have been four on most outfields.
There’s been a fair bit of rain so the outfield is slow, which means the openers are doing a lot of running: 18 of England’s 23 runs so far have been been, well, run.
OVER 2: ENG 15/0 (Jones 6 Wyatt-Hodge 7)
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Mithali Ayodhya, a slingy roundarm bowler, shares the new ball. A wide outswinger is slashed up and over cover by Danni Wyatt-Hodge for the first boundary of the World Cup.
Four singles and a wide make it a good over for England.
Amateur hour
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After weeks of build-up the T20 Women’s Cricket World Cup begins with a five-minute delay due to a sightscreen issue. It’s hardly the ideal start, as the 15,000-strong crowd here are forced to watch Sri Lanka’s Malki Madara tossing the ball to herself. Play is finally underway but the scoreboard in front of the media seats isn’t currently working. This is amateur hour.
OVER 1: ENG 6/0 (Jones 4 Wyatt-Hodge 1)
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At 6.36pm, six minutes later than scheduled, Malki Madara bowls the first ball of the World Cup. Amy Jones’s drive doesn’t pierce the field, and then she gets off the mark with a pretty risky single to mid-on. I think she would just have made it even if the throw had hit the stumps.
Plenty of inswing for Madara, which allows England to take a number of runs through the vacant midwicket region.
Delayed start
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There’s a problem behind the bowler’s arm. Not exactly sure what it is – it looks like some kind of shiny tape on the sightscreen – but it means we’re running a few minutes late. Aa gently farcical way to start a World Cup.
Time for the action
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The anthems have been belted out and now, on a lovely sunny evening at Edgbaston, the 10th T20 Women’s World Cup is about to begin. England won the first; since then the roll of honour is Australia 6, West Indies 1, New Zealand 1.
A Wicked opening ceremony
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The full cast of Wicked have just finished performing on stage, ending their set with their globally acclaimed ‘Defying Gravity’ number. Their performance at this evening’s T20 World Cup opener was billed as a ‘collision of live theatre and elite sport’ but I’m not entirely convinced it’s achieved the desired effect because they are swathes of empty seats here at Edgbaston. More pyrotechnics than people, it would appear.
Women’s T20 World Cup predictions: Our experts pick who is going to win
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The Women’s T20 World Cup gets under way on Friday with England taking on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston and concludes with the final at Lord’s on July 5.
Will Australia lift the trophy for a seventh time? Could India make it back-to-back 50-over and 20-over titles? Or can England capitalise on home advantage? They have won all four previous World Cups, in both formats, played on English soil. Here are our experts’ predictions...
Boot camps and book clubs: How England’s cricketers prepared for the World Cup
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By Sonia Twigg
Fitness tests, warm-up series, 2½ days at Sandhurst… all part of England’s build-up to the T20 World Cup.
Tapping into military expertise to help with team building is a well-trodden path in sport; the hope is that it has the success depicted in the recent Dear England television series about Sir Gareth Southgate’s football team rather than the infamous fallout of the Springboks’ Kamp Staaldraad (Camp Barbed Wire) before the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Enlisting the help of the Royal Tank Regiment, Charlotte Edwards’s squad spent time at Sandhurst, the British military academy, doing leadership training to prepare themselves before the international summer.
It is not the first time an England cricket team have replaced a “bonding trip” with a boot camp; the men spent five days in a German forest before the Ashes victory over Australia in 2010-11. But for the women it is a significant departure from spending a few days abseiling in the Lake District with the odd cold-water plunge as they have previously done.
Lauren Bell interview: I learnt as much in a month at WPL as my whole career
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By Fiona Tomas
To get an idea of how key Lauren Bell will be for England in the T20 World Cup over the next few weeks, her whirlwind experience in the Women’s Premier League is a good place to start. “I probably learnt as much in that month as I have in my whole international career,” she says of her time in India earlier this year. “It was high pressure playing cricket out there.”
Not only was Bell a hit with eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, finishing the tournament with 128 dot balls and an economy rate of 5.53, her profile in India blew up overnight. Her Instagram following has surged to 2.2 million, which makes her one of England’s most marketable sportswomen.
The teams
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England’s team is as expected. The main call is the inclusion of Alice Capsey ahead of Sophia Dunkley, which means Amy Jones will open the batting.
England Wyatt-Hodge, Jones (wk), Sciver-Brunt (c), Capsey, Knight, Kemp, Gibson, Dean, Ecclestone, Smith, Bell.
Sri Lanka Athapaththu (c), Harshitha, Nilakshika, Kaveesha, Vishmi, Imesha, Hansima, Kaushini (wk), Dasanayaka, Malki, Mithali.
Sri Lanka win the toss and bowl
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Chamari Athapaththu, playing her 10th T20 World Cup, has inserted England after calling correctly at the toss. Nat Sciver-Brunt says England would also have bowled first.
Good evening
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Hello, good evening and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, over-by-over coverage of England’s T20 World Cup opener against Sri Lanka. England have never failed to win a Women’s World Cup on home soil – they were triumphant in 1973, 1993, 2009, 2017 – so there’s no pressure whatsoever on Charlotte Edwards’ side.
Thankfully they’re in pretty good shape. They may not have a settled side, the cliched ideal of any side – but that’s a positive consequence of Alice Capsey’s excellent form, most notably in the series-clinching victory over the 50-over world champions India.
England are also in the most favourable group by far. Australia, India and South Africa were all placed together, which means at least one will miss out on the semi-finals, while England’s main opponents are the defending champions New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka shouldn’t be taken for granted. They won a T20 series in England three years ago and can be dangerous opponents. Their remarkable captain, Chamari Athapaththu, can win a game on her own.
So can England’s captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt. She was absent for much of the build-up with a calf injury and will not bowl in the early stages of the tournament. She may not bowl throughout, but her presence at No3 gives England authority and class. She would love to join Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Karen Smithies, Charlotte Edwards and Heather Knight on the list of England captain who have won a World Cup.
Tonight’s match starts at 6.30pm; we’ll have the toss shortly.