England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge dedicates unbeaten century to newborn daughter

Danni Wyatt-Hodge dedicated her fantastic 105 not out to her newborn daughter after helping England start the Women’s T20 World Cup with an 87-run win over Sri Lanka.

Wyatt-Hodge, whose wife Georgie gave birth to their daughter Daisy last month, got to three figures off just 61 balls to underpin England’s 219 for one – the highest total in the history of this tournament.

She was on 96 at the start of the final over and Nat Sciver-Brunt flayed a couple of boundaries to keep a 14,865 Edgbaston crowd on tenterhooks before turning the strike over to her partner for the penultimate delivery, with Wyatt-Hodge bringing up her third T20 century.

The 35-year-old celebrated by cradling her bat in celebration and was delighted she could share the moment with the England captain, who parents a son with former team-mate Katherine Sciver-Brunt.

“I was on about 90 and I thought I have to get a hundred for Daisy,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “Once I saw it pierce the gap and go for four, as you could see from my celebration, I was really happy.

“It was really nice to have Nat in the middle to celebrate that hundred – two mummies. She is so chill and calm.

“I got a little bit nervous at the end when the crowd was cheering me on and I thought ‘I’d better do this’. Nat said ‘just take a breath and just time it’. I was really determined. I said ‘come on’.

“I don’t know if you saw it on the TV, but it was a really special moment.”

Left-armer Freya Kemp collected four wickets as Sri Lanka were all out for 132 after Amy Jones contributed 53 to a 135 opening stand with Wyatt-Hodge, who shared an unbroken 84 in 39 balls with Sciver-Brunt (46).

Sri Lanka put down Jones twice and Sciver-Brunt once but Wyatt-Hodge was supreme, despite having recorded three successive single-figure scores since her return from maternity leave.

“I have played so many games of cricket over the years,” Wyatt-Hodge, who has made more than 300 appearances for England, said. “T20 cricket is such a fickle game, especially opening the batting.

“I have just got to trust what I have done in the past will hold me in good stead. I am not the type of player who likes to hit balls and feel good, it’s all about being mentally ready.

“I did some extra drills last night under the lights on the outfield. But as long as I am up for it, I’m hungry and feeling mentally ready, I should be OK and give myself the best chance of success.”

England could hardly have dreamed of a better curtain-raiser although the games come thick and fast as they travel to Southampton on Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s next outing against Ireland.

“There was a lot of pressure on us so it was really important we started well,” Wyatt-Hodge added. “We’ll try and put in a really good performance again on Tuesday night.”