T20WC 2026 ENG-W vs SL-W Playing 11: Nat Sciver Brunt-led England Women will square off against Chamari Athapaththu-led Sri Lanka in the 1st match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on June 12 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Both sides will be aiming for a win in the game to start the event on a positive note. They have met on 11 occasions, where England women have 11 wins while Sri Lanka have 3 wins.
Sri Lanka Women won the toss and opted to bowl. Speaking at the toss, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said, “First, I’m pretty confident about my bowling unit. I don’t know this condition, and yesterday it rained, so we decided to bowl first. Actually, we are going with young players because we need to build a good team in the future, so we give opportunities to 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.”
“Yeah, definitely. We won more games this year, but the most important thing, we have to execute our right plan at the right time. So new game, and we know England is a really good team as well, so we need to execute today’s plan well. That’s the most important thing.”
“Actually, we are going with a very young team, so new fast bowlers come to the side, and Vishmi Gunaratne is back in the side after injury, and young Imesha Dulani, she’s a very good batter, and she’s coming to the team as well,” concluded Athapaththu.
Your XI to kick start our home T20 World Cup! 😍
We lose the toss and bat first at Edgbaston
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 12, 2026
Meanwhile, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said, “I was gonna bowl as well. So, yeah, looking forward to getting out there with the bat first. Excitement. Obviously, a lot of pressure comes with that, but yeah, as a group, we’re really excited to create some new memories and really enjoy ourselves over the next few weeks.”
“Yeah, yeah. Selecting the first XI, I suppose, the pieces sort of fell into place during the two series. And yeah, really excited with the XI that we’ve got. Yeah, we’ve got the three spinners, Sophie, Charlie and Linsey in, and both all-rounders in as well,” concluded Sciver-Brunt.
ENG-W vs SL-W Playing 11
England Women Playing 11: 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 11: 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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