England Women began their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with an 87-run victory over Sri Lanka Women in Birmingham on Friday. After being asked to bat first, England posted 219/1 in 20 overs, the highest team total in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup, powered by a century partnership between Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
The previous record also belonged to England, who scored 213/5 against Pakistan in 2023. In reply, Sri Lanka Women were restricted to 132 in 20 overs as England secured a winning start to the tournament.
Opening batters Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones provided England with a b start, adding 135 runs for the first wicket. Jones scored 53 runs from 38 balls, including four fours and one six, before being dismissed by Malki Madara.
Wyatt-Hodge then shared an unbeaten 84-run partnership for the second wicket with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. Wyatt-Hodge remained unbeaten on 105 from 62 balls, while Sciver-Brunt finished unbeaten on 46.
With her century, Wyatt-Hodge became the seventh batter in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup to score a hundred. Her innings helped England reach 219/1.
England’s total of 219/1 became the highest team score in Women’s T20 World Cup history. The previous record of 213/5, also held by England, was set against Pakistan in 2023.
The 135-run opening partnership between Wyatt-Hodge and Jones also became England’s second-highest partnership in Women’s T20 World Cup history. The record remains the unbeaten 169-run stand between Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt in 2020. The partnership was also the third-highest opening stand in the tournament’s history.
Chasing a target of 220, Sri Lanka made a poor start as England’s bowling attack struck regularly and prevented any sustained recovery.
Nilakshika Silva top-scored for Sri Lanka with 39 runs, while Harshitha Samarawickrama contributed 29 and Kavisha Dilhari added 19. Hansima Karunaratne also reached double figures, but the remaining batters failed to make significant contributions.
Several key batters, including captain Chamari Athapaththu, were dismissed cheaply as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 132 in 20 overs.
Young all-rounder Freya Kemp played a significant role in England’s victory. Making her first appearance in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Kemp took four wickets for 22 runs from her four overs.
With that performance, she became the third England bowler to take four wickets on her Women’s T20 World Cup debut. Holly Colvin and Danni Wyatt-Hodge had previously achieved the feat. Kemp’s bowling helped keep Sri Lanka under pressure throughout the chase and contributed to England’s 87-run win.
