BIRMINGHAM, England — Host nation England got its 2024 Women’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign off to a historic, electrifying start on Friday, cruising to an overwhelming 87-run victory over Sri Lanka in front of a sold-out-feeling crowd of 14,865 cheering fans at Edgbaston.
The story of the match was written by England’s batters, who delivered a tournament record-breaking performance to post the highest total in Women’s T20 World Cup history: 219 runs for the loss of just one wicket at the close of their 20 overs. The standout of the innings was opening batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who recently returned to international cricket after maternity leave, finishing an unbeaten 105 runs off 62 deliveries.
Wyatt-Hodge shared the crease for a game-changing opening stand with Amy Jones, who was promoted up the batting order to open the innings. The pair put on 135 runs together, a new record for England’s highest opening partnership in T20 World Cup history, hitting 100 runs inside the first 10 overs. Jones survived two dropped catches on 12 and 48 before finally being dismissed for 53 runs off 38 balls, cementing her role in the dominant opening display.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, who only recently made her return to competitive cricket after suffering a torn calf injury in April, also made history during the innings. She survived a dropped catch when she was on 14, and went on to score an unbeaten 46 runs off just 22 deliveries. This knock pushed her career T20 World Cup run total to 784, overtaking former captain and current England head coach Charlotte Edwards’ previous record of 768 to become the nation’s all-time leading run-scorer in the tournament.
In the final over of England’s innings, Sciver-Brunt gave the final two deliveries to Wyatt-Hodge, who was stuck on 97 runs at the time. The opener wasted no time, hitting the first of the two behind square for a boundary to bring up her century — just the seventh hundred in Women’s T20 World Cup history, and only the second ever scored by an English player. She followed that with another four off the final delivery, closing her innings on 105 not out with 13 fours, marking her third career T20 century.
After reaching the milestone, Wyatt-Hodge punched the air in celebration before re-creating the iconic baby-rocking celebration first made famous by Brazilian soccer star Bebeto at the 1994 men’s FIFA World Cup. The celebration was a tribute to her newborn daughter Daisy, who was born on May 20 to Wyatt-Hodge and her wife. “It was great fun out there,” Wyatt-Hodge told reporters after the match. “My century celebration was for my daughter Daisy. I hope TV got it.”
Wyatt-Hodge’s impact extended far beyond her batting performance. In the fourth over of Sri Lanka’s chase, she ran from deep square leg, dove over her shoulder, and pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch to remove Chamari Athapaththu — Sri Lanka’s dangerous captain and biggest batting threat — for just 4 runs. Though she dropped two subsequent catching chances, neither miscue proved costly for England.
Left-arm fast bowler Freya Kemp turned in a career-defining performance with the ball as Sri Lanka’s chase collapsed. Kemp finished with career-best figures of 4 wickets for just 21 runs, including three wickets in a single over that crumbled Sri Lanka’s batting order and reduced them to 92 runs for 8 wickets. Sri Lanka was eventually bowled out for 132 runs, sealing England’s 87-run opening win.
The tournament continues Saturday with three group-stage matches: Ireland faces Scotland, Australia takes on South Africa, and defending champion New Zealand meets the West Indies.