Birmingham, June 12: The wait for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has finally ended. The tournament’s opening match is taking place at Edgbaston, featuring Sri Lanka and England. Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to bowl first.
After winning the toss, Athapaththu stated, “We will bowl first. I trust my bowlers. I am not familiar with the conditions here. It rained yesterday, so we decided to bowl first. We are going with young players. We know England is a very good team, so we need to execute our plan well today. That is the most important thing. We have new fast bowlers in the team. Vishmi Gunaratne is back, and Imesha Dulani is also part of the squad.”
England’s captain Nat Sciver-Brunt expressed her thoughts, saying, “I would have chosen to bowl as well. I am looking forward to batting first. It is exciting to captain England in a home World Cup after being away from the team for a year. With that comes a lot of pressure. As a group, we are very excited to create new memories and truly enjoy the next few weeks. I am thrilled about my playing eleven. We have three spinners: Sophie, Charlie, and Linsey, along with both all-rounders.”
The playing eleven for England includes: Amy Jones (wicketkeeper), Danny Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Danielle Gibson, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, and Lauren Bell.
Sri Lanka’s playing eleven consists of: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (captain), Imesha Dulani, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Neelakanthika Silva, Kaushani Nuthyangana (wicketkeeper), Sugandhika Kumari, Malki Madara, and Mithali Ayodhya.
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