England crush Sri Lanka in Women’s T20 World Cup
England launched its home Women’s Twenty20 World Cup in style by crushing Sri Lanka by 87 runs at Edgbaston. After making the highest total in tournament history — 219-1 — with 105 not out by opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge, England dismissed Sri Lanka for 132 on Friday.
Left-arm pacer Freya Kemp took a career-best 4-21, including three wickets in one over that reduced Sri Lanka to 92-8.
But it was England’s record-setting batting that shone on a sunny evening in front of 14,865 fans.
Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones, who was pushed up the order to open, combined for 100 inside 10 overs. Jones was dropped on 12 and 48 and was out for 53 off 38 balls. But her’s and Wyatt-Hodge’s stand of 135 was England’s highest opening partnership in T20 World Cup history.
Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, only just back from a torn calf in April, was dropped on 14. But her unbeaten 46 off 22 balls shot her past Charlotte Edwards, the former captain and current England coach, to be England’s highest run-scorer in T20 World Cups. Sciver-Brunt has 784 and Edwards 768.
Sciver-Brunt gave Wyatt-Hodge, on 97, the last two balls of the innings. She immediately hit behind square to the boundary, reaching the seventh hundred in tournament history and the second by an Englishwoman.
She punched the air and made a baby-rocking celebration a la Brazil’s Bebeto in the 1994 men’s soccer World Cup. Wyatt-Hodge was only just back from maternity leave. Her wife gave birth to their first child on May 20.
“It was great fun out there,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “My century celebration was for my daughter Daisy. I hope TV got it.”
She also hit the last delivery for four, her 13th, to finish her third T20 century 105 not out from 62 balls.
If that wasn’t enough, Wyatt-Hodge took a brilliant catch, running from deep square leg, over her shoulder with a dive to remove Sri Lanka’s biggest threat, captain Chamari Athapaththu, on 4 in the fourth over.
Wyatt-Hodge dropped her next two chances but neither caused any great harm.
On Saturday, it’s Ireland vs. Scotland, Australia vs. South Africa, and defending champion New Zealand vs. West Indies.
