BIG-HITTING ENGLAND SOAR TO THIRD WIN IN A ROW

Media release

• Sophia Dunkley was dropped three times on the way to 57.
• England became the first side to reach 200 twice in one T20 World Cup.
• Kirstie Gordon took two wickets against her former side.
• Sophie Ecclestone took her 150th wicket in T20Is in her 109th game.

England remain perfect at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 after some brutal power-hitting helped them to a 38-run win over Scotland.

Scotland were set a mammoth chase after dropping Sophia Dunkley (57) three times before Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson took England’s total to 200 for the second time in the tournament.

Sophie Ecclestone became the second-fastest woman to 150 T20I wickets as England (ICC Ranking: 2) got one over their neighbours.

DUNKLEY SURVIVES DROPS AS ENGLAND REACH 200 AGAIN

Scotland (ICC Ranking: 11) had been near-perfect in the field in their narrow loss to the West Indies but having elected to field, they dropped catches and made further mistakes in the field.

They were also forced into two changes with Ailsa Lister and Rachel Slater not recovering from their energy-sapping match on the same ground two evenings before.

The innings had started positively as Kirstie Gordon opened the bowling against her former side and Amy Jones was gone first ball, sending a simple catch to Megan McColl.

That brought Sophia Dunkley, playing in place of injured skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, to the crease and she lived a charmed life at the wicket.

She was first dropped by Priyanaz Chatterji while on four from 10 balls, with the all-rounder putting down a difficult diving grab.

That freed Dunkley up as she crashed the first six of the game three balls later before ending the powerplay on 43 from 25.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge (7) was out the very next ball as Gordon picked up one of her easiest wickets.

The spinner had the chance for more in the over, but Dunkley was put down on 43 by Katherine Fraser and then 45 by McColl in the space of two balls.

Dunkley reached her first T20 World Cup fifty off 33 balls before she eventually departed for 57 as Hannah Rainey held on to a catch in the deep off the bowling of Kathryn Bryce.

Rainey, who was only in Scotland’s squad as an injury replacement, then bowled Alice Capsey for 40 from 25 balls to pin England back to 110 for four.

Gordon took the catch to give Chatterji her first wicket of the tournament as Heather Knight departed for 25.
However, the former England player then conceded 21 runs from her final over to see her figures slide to two for 30.

Dani Gibson (30 not out) and Freya Kemp (39 not out) provided late power-hitting to boost England’s total to 200 for five as they put on a sixth-wicket partnership of 61 from 21 balls.

ECCLESTONE BRINGS UP MILESTONE WICKET

Scotland started the only way they could and attacked England from the off.
Fraser was dropped by Gibson in the first over but they reached 32 without loss at the end of the third over by playing aggressively.

However, Fraser tried one shot too many and was bowled by stand-in captain Charlie Dean for 23 from 13.

Scotland were one run ahead of England at the end of the powerplay, but Ecclestone made an immediate impact to bowl Kathryn Bryce for six and claim her 150th T20I wicket.

Ecclestone had another as she bowled Darcey Carter for 29 and Scotland slipped to 64 for three.

Kemp and Gibson combined again as the former caught McColl for 10 off the bowling of the latter as the required run-rate climbed to over 12 an over.

Sarah Bryce made 34 off 24 balls but was caught on the boundary by Gibson off Linsey Smith before Kemp took the high catch off her own bowling to dismiss Chatterji to leave Scotland on 155 for six.

Pippa Sproul and Gordon (23) put on 47 for the seventh wicket before Sproul was run out for 27 off the final ball.

Scores in brief 

England v Scotland – Headingley, Leeds

England: 200/5 in 20 overs (Sophia Dunkley 57, Alice Capsey 40; Kirstie Gordon 2/30, Hannah Rainey 1/30)

Scotland: 162/7 in 20 overs (Sarah Bryce 34, Darcey Carter 29; Sophie Ecclestone 2/23, Freya Kemp 1/13)

Result: England beat Scotland by 38 runs