Report

Dunkley, Kemp and Gibson star as England win three in three

Tanay Hughes · 21/06/2026 · 2 min read

England’s Impressive Start to the Women’s T20 World Cup

A timely half-century for Sophia Dunkley followed by a boundary blitz from Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson propelled England to a 38-run victory over Scotland and maintained their unbeaten start to the Women’s T20 World Cup.

England’s Strong Batting Performance

Dunkley made good on her return to the England side with 57 off 37 balls after being called up at No. 3 for her first match of the tournament because of captain Nat Sciver-Brunt’s calf injury. That gave Kemp and Gibson an excellent launchpad for their unbroken sixth-wicket stand worth 61 off just 21 balls as the hosts reached 200 for 5 on a glorious summer’s evening at Headingley.

Scotland’s Challenging Pursuit

Kirstie Gordon, the former England left-arm spinner who switched allegiances back to Scotland ahead of this World Cup, started well with a wicket first ball on her way to 2 for 30. But her side were far less assured in the field than they had been in their spirited seven-run defeat to West Indies earlier in the week with a spate of errors costing them.

Facing a huge task, Scotland started their pursuit brightly enough, matching England in the powerplay but two wickets in nine balls to Sophie Ecclestone put her side on the right path.

The final score was England 200 for 5 (Dunkley 57, Capsey 40, Kemp 39*, Gibson 30*, Gordon 2-30) beat Scotland 162 for 7 (S. Bryce 34, Ecclestone 2-23) by 38 runs

Tanay Hughes

Tanay Hughes is a senior cricket correspondent for the Daily FT, Sri Lanka’s leading financial daily. Of Burgher descent, Hughes grew up steeped in the island’s rich literary and cricketing traditions. He covers the national team, the World Test Championship, and the domestic circuit with a special focus on spin bowling and the transformation of cricket infrastructure after the civil war. His work also explores the business side of the sport, including broadcasting deals and the financial pressures on smaller Test-playing nations. A Colombo native and University of Colombo graduate, Hughes is a regular voice on Sri Lankan television panels and contributes to The Cricketer and Wisden online.