The cast of West End musical Wicked were parachuted in to launch this T20 World Cup, caked in green make-up, decked in elaborate costumes and accompanied by fireworks that left a smoky haze for a good 10 minutes afterwards.
But after a spell-binding 105, the only person defying gravity at Edgbaston was Danni Wyatt-Hodge – and it will take some time for her to come back down to earth.
The England opener marmalised an overwhelmed Sri Lanka attack on her way to the seventh century in women’s T20 World Cup history, just 23 days after she became a mum to daughter Daisy.
Wyatt-Hodge was at pains to stress this is all about the team, rather than her own moment of glory, and an 87-run win on a sun-kissed night was a dreamy start to a tournament England have high hopes of winning.
They might be underdogs at their own World Cup, with Australia the favourites and India and South Africa highly-fancied, but this was an emphatic statement, even if it came against a Sri Lanka team who were out of their depth.
To watch Wyatt-Hodge bat, however, made one wonder who could stop her anyway.
The 35-year-old was on maternity leave during a warm-up series against New Zealand and a match against India after wife Georgie gave birth to the couple’s first child, but with 305 England appearances and this her eighth T20 World Cup, she hardly needed a knock-up.
Her innings was electric. There were 13 fours and one huge six in the 62-ball knock, part of which formed a 135 opening-wicket stand with Amy Jones.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt then came in at first drop and delivered a superb 22-ball cameo, plundering six fours and a six in an unbeaten 46 as England finished on 219-1.
Wyatt-Hodge smacked successive boundaries at the end of the 16th over, the first a slap through the covers and then a glance off her hip down the leg-side, to reach 90 not out.
But Sciver-Brunt dominated the strike thereafter, with boundaries rather than singles leaving Wyatt-Hodge still stranded four runs short at the beginning of the final over.
Fortunately for her, Malki Madara had a nightmare. She bowled three wides and a no-ball, giving Sciver-Brunt time to get off strike, and, with the penultimate ball, Wyatt-Hodge swung a full ball past short fine leg to cue the celebrations, which included a cradle-rocking motion to the camera.
“That was for Daisy and I hope TV got it there, a little cradle. That was for her,” she said.
“We spoke about how important it is what to start well. Our bowlers did really well to keep them to that score.
“I still can’t believe it. It is always a nice wicket here at Edgbaston. The first game, there obviously a few nerves around. We really wanted to start well and we did with 220 runs on the board.
“I can’t ask for more than that and then our bowlers did really well to keep their total low.”
This is a new England team, rebuilt under Charlotte Edwards since she took the head coach position after the difficult end to Jon Lewis’ reign.
They are fitter and sharper in the field, as demonstrated by Wyatt-Hodge herself, who sprinted backwards from square leg to take a stunning over-the-shoulder catch.
To add to her perfect day, when she brushed the hair from her face and spat the grass from her mouth after that acrobatic grab, she turned around to see it was Sri Lanka’s dangerous Chamari Athapaththu trudging back to the pavilion.
Confidence is growing in the England camp. They came into this tournament off the back of successive 2-1 series victories over New Zealand and India, even chasing 181 to win the decider against the latter.
Alice Capsey and Heather Knight were the stars there and there are players contributing up and down the team, with Wyatt-Hodge just the latest.
“[We were] really composed and thought about the game in a really good way,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“Then in the second innings, starting off with three wickets and a power play is going to make it difficult to chase that score down. A massive win for us and really happy that first game is done.”
Freya Kemp finished with four wickets, including three in an over, to leave Sri Lanka on 92-8 and though Nilakshi de Silva’s spirited 39 helped her side’s net run-rate, they were eventually bowled out for 132.
But with just two teams from six going through to the semi-finals, and defending champions New Zealand also in the group, their chances are already long.
England will face taller tasks than this, including their match with the White Ferns on June 27. But as starts go, this was just about perfect.
Follow the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at https://www.icc-cricket.com/
