Wyatt-Hodge’s unbeaten 105 powers England to record T20 World Cup win

Danni Wyatt-Hodge turned England’s World Cup opener into a statement of intent, carving an unbeaten 105 from 62 balls as the hosts blew past Sri Lanka by 87 runs at Edgbaston. England’s 219 for 1 was the highest total in Women’s T20 World Cup history, and it arrived in front of a 14,865-strong crowd that saw a campaign reset in a single innings.

Wyatt-Hodge’s century carried extra force because of the timing. She and her wife Georgie welcomed their daughter Daisy on May 20, and she had only recently returned from maternity leave. The emotional backdrop gave the knock its human edge, but the cricketing impact mattered more: her third T20 international hundred, and only the seventh century ever scored in the women’s T20 World Cup, put England miles ahead before Sri Lanka had even begun their chase.

England needed only one clean batting effort to make the contest safe, and they got it through Wyatt-Hodge’s acceleration, Amy Jones’s 53 and Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 46. Wyatt-Hodge reached three figures off 61 balls, then raised the noise level inside Edgbaston as she crossed a landmark that few players in the women’s game have touched. England’s previous best in the tournament, 213 for 5 against Pakistan in 2023, was swept aside with room to spare.

For England, the value of the innings went beyond the record. A veteran opener producing that kind of tempo immediately eases pressure on a side that has often relied on its middle order to recover control. With Wyatt-Hodge setting the pace, Sciver-Brunt could finish rather than rescue, and Jones could play with freedom through the middle overs. That kind of shape is exactly what title contenders want: a top order that can win the game before the back end of the innings even begins.

Sri Lanka never got close. Freya Kemp’s spell added bite to England’s defence, including three wickets in four balls, and Sri Lanka were dismissed for 132. For a side starting a home tournament, the margin, the record score and the authority of the performance were almost as important as the points themselves. England now have a result that sharpens belief, raises their net run-rate cushion and suggests their batting order can take control of a tournament in one ruthless burst.