Kemp takes four wickets as England dominate with ball - report
Hosts post 219-1 - their highest score in a T20 WC
Wyatt-Hodge scores brilliant 61-ball ton
England openers put on 135 for first wicket
Women's T20 World Cup, Group 2, Edgbaston
Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist at Edgbaston
Here we are. After a long build-up, England's home World Cup is here.
It's a belting Birmingham evening for the tournament opener and we've currently got the cast of Wicked performing on the far side of the ground.
Edgbaston's capacity is reduced because of the hotel being built opposite the Hollies. A crowd of around 15,000 people is expected.
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland captain Nat Sciver-Brunt: "I would have bowled as well so looking forward to getting out there and batting. There's a lot of pressure being hosts but as a group we're looking to make our own memories.
"Selecting the first 11 the pieces fells into place and we are excited. Team wise? We've got three spinners and both all-rounders in."
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt gives the coin a toss and Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu calls heads.
It comes down a head and Athapaththu decides to bowl first.
England's openers start to strap on their pads.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland expects?
It's a rather simplistic narrative that's been pedalled over the past couple months.
Off the back of glorious triumphs on home soil for the Lionesses (2022) and the Red Roses (2025) it's time for the cricketers to follow suit this summer in the T20 World Cup and create a 'breakthrough' moment for the sport.
England have, of course, won the tournament on their own patch before in 2009. Back when it was called the World Twenty20.
Their bid to eclipse their football and rugby colleagues and win it again starts today.
Welcome to live coverage of the opening game of the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup between England and Sri Lanka.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jones,caught Athapaththu, bowled Madara Jones, caught Athapaththu, bowled Madara | 53 | 38 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 62 | 139.47 |
Wyatt-Hodge,not out Wyatt-Hodge, not out | 105 | 62 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 92 | 169.35 |
Sciver-Brunt,not out Sciver-Brunt, not out | 46 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 209.09 |
Extras, no balls 2, wides 11, byes 0, leg byes 2, total 15 Extras, no balls 2, wides 11, byes 0, leg byes 2, total 15 | |||||||
Total,219 for 1 20.0 overs Total,219 for 1 20.0 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Madara | 4.0 | 0 | 51 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 12.75 |
Ayodhya | 4.0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 10.00 |
Dasanayaka | 4.0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10.25 |
Athapaththu | 3.0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10.66 |
Dilhari | 3.0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12.33 |
de Silva | 2.0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
135 for 1 (13.4 overs) | Jones |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gunaratne,leg before wicket, bowled Bell Gunaratne, leg before wicket, bowled Bell | 6 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 66.67 |
Athapaththu,caught Wyatt-Hodge, bowled Dean Athapaththu, caught Wyatt-Hodge, bowled Dean | 4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 57.14 |
Dulani,caught Kemp, bowled Smith Dulani, caught Kemp, bowled Smith | 7 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 77.78 |
Samarawickrama,bowled Kemp Samarawickrama, bowled Kemp | 29 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 161.11 |
Karunaratne,leg before wicket, bowled Dean Karunaratne, leg before wicket, bowled Dean | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 137.50 |
Dilhari,caught Smith, bowled Kemp Dilhari, caught Smith, bowled Kemp | 19 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 126.67 |
de Silva,caught Capsey, bowled Ecclestone de Silva, caught Capsey, bowled Ecclestone | 39 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 118.18 |
Nuthayangana,bowled Kemp Nuthayangana, bowled Kemp | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Dasanayaka,bowled Kemp Dasanayaka, bowled Kemp | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Madara,caught Jones, bowled Ecclestone Madara, caught Jones, bowled Ecclestone | 5 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 33.33 |
Ayodhya,not out Ayodhya, not out | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33.33 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 5, byes 1, leg byes 5, total 11 Extras, no balls 0, wides 5, byes 1, leg byes 5, total 11 | |||||||
Total,132 all out 20.0 overs Total,132 all out 20.0 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bell | 3.0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5.00 |
Smith | 4.0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 |
Dean | 3.0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 |
Ecclestone | 4.0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.75 |
Gibson | 2.0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10.00 |
Kemp | 4.0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5.50 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
14 for 1 (2.1 overs) | Gunaratne |
22 for 2 (3.2 overs) | Athapaththu |
37 for 3 (5.4 overs) | Dulani |
58 for 4 (7.6 overs) | Karunaratne |
67 for 5 (8.3 overs) | Samarawickrama |
92 for 6 (12.3 overs) | Dilhari |
92 for 7 (12.5 overs) | Nuthayangana |
92 for 8 (12.6 overs) | Dasanayaka |
131 for 9 (19.2 overs) | de Silva |
132 for 10 (19.6 overs) | Madara |