In a major development, England women’s cricket team captain Nat Sciver-Brunt will be playing purely as a batter in the first few matches of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 as her team kicks off the tournament against Sri Lanka on Friday, June 12. Sciver-Brunt is leading England in her second ICC trophy and first T20 World Cup after having taken over the reins from Heather Knight.
Sciver-Brunt would not be bowling for the first few matches as per precaution due to a calf injury she suffered in April. She missed the T20I and ODI series against India and hasn’t played an international match for almost a year heading into the World Cup.
Sri Lanka win toss, opt to bowl
Coming to the toss and team updates, Sri Lanka won the toss, and their captain, Chamari Athapaththu, opted to bowl first. Malki Madara and Mithali Ayodhya are among the World Cup debutants as announced by Sri Lanka a but prior to the match in Birmingham. “First, Iโm pretty confident about my bowling unit. I donโt know this condition, and yesterday it rained, so we decided to bowl first, ” Chamari said on her decision to bowl first.ย
“(On leading Sri Lanka in her tenth T20 World Cup and the teamโs youthful composition) Actually, we are going with young players because we need to build a good team in the future, so we give opportunities for the youngsters. So selectors and the board officials decided to bring a new team, and yeah, I accept that, and we are going with this team.”
England field three spinners, Amy Jones promoted
England have gone with three spinners in Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith. Amy Jones has been promoted to open the innings along with Danni Wyatt-Hodge as Alice Capsey keeps her spot in place of Sophia Dunkley.
Teams:
England Women (Playing XI): Amy Jones(w), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt(c), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Danielle Gibson, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Sri Lanka Women (Playing XI): Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Imesha Dulani, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushani Nuthyangana(w), Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya
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