The Time I Got to Volunteer at the Women's T20 World Cup 2026

Part 2: The Friends

10. 07 .2026

If you missed Part 1, go and have a read of the flag chaos first. This one picks up from Day 4 and covers the part of this experience that, if I'm honest, is the most beautiful part of sport.

Day 4: 21st June — Sri Lanka vs Scotland

Day 4. The last shift. And if Days 1 through 3 were incredible, Day 4 was the cherry on top.

If you've been paying attention to my posts, you'll have picked up the hints by now. I've never openly said it though but, I am indeed from Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka played Scotland in their final game at Old Trafford.

I told the volunteers around me early on that I was Sri Lankan and it would be so cool to hold that flag. They didn't hesitate. Every single one of them was pushing me, and telling our leads that Ameesha needs to be on the Sri Lanka flag and of course, I got to hold the Sri Lankan flag. I got to lead it out. I was at the top corner of that flag, near mid-on, singing my national anthem in the middle of Old Trafford.

I didn't think it would hit me as hard as it did. I didn't actually grow up in Sri Lanka. But the reason I love cricket, the reason I got into it at all, is because I come from a Sri Lankan family, and Sri Lankans love their cricket. Without that family influence, I'm not sure I would have found this sport. So, standing there with that flag, behind that team, the national anthem playing, I felt it deeply, in a way I genuinely wasn't prepared for.

The game itself went down to the wire. I went and sat with the Sri Lankan crowd and watched every ball of it. What a way to finish. I also got to sit right next to the Sri Lankan dugout for that last game. After the match I got pictures and autographs with the players.

Before we left for the last time, the volunteer leads did something really lovely. At every venue, on the final shift, all the volunteers got to do a lap of honour around the ground. We walked out, the crowd gave us a reception, and we clapped them back. It was a small thing but it was a wonderful way to end an incredible two weeks.

Shout out to Moonshot, to Rachel, Rose, and the entire volunteer lead team for making that happen. Also massive thanks to Alex, Millie, and Roheed, our leads on the flag operation. Patient, kind, and brilliant at what they did. They made it easy for all of us to learn something completely new and feel good about it.

What I'll Actually Remember

I've had to really sit down and think about whether I wanted to put this story out there for everyone to read. It's mixed some wonderful stories and some personal bits and pieces too, but ultimately, I think this is why I started my blog; to talk about cricket and here we are.

I never expected to find myself sitting next to a former Lancashire women's captain at lunch, just chatting about women's cricket, before the penny dropped and I nearly asked her for her autograph on the spot. These were women who had played the game for years, at county level, through eras when there was no support, no resources, no guarantee that women's cricket was going anywhere. Yet, they kept playing anyway and because they did, the game is what it is today. Still imperfect, still with a long way to go, but here. Growing. Visible.

I have such deep respect for that generation of cricketers. The current players are lucky to be playing in this era, and I mean that genuinely. The opportunities exist now because other people made them exist, in much harder circumstances. It's almost timely to be talking about this at a time when the first ever women's Test match is taking place at Lord's. What an incredible moment for women's cricket.

There were also the volunteers who weren't cricket fans at all. People who just love volunteering, across sports, events, all kinds, who turned up because that's what they do. I hadn't thought about that before. That you could bring someone into a sport not through the sport itself, but through the act of volunteering at it. Show them the community, show them what it feels like to be part of something.

Small moments added up too. We all received gifts at the end of each shift and one of them were T20 World Cup branded country pins. There was a volunteer who remembered I was Sri Lankan and swapped her pin with me so I'd get the Sri Lankan one. Then, the girl on Day 1 who handed me the South African flag without a second thought because she could see it meant more to me. The Indian fans on Day 2 who pulled me into a conversation about cricket data and made me feel, briefly, like I knew exactly what I was talking about.

One last thing, and it came from something as practical as running out of larger kit sizes faster than expected. So much of the promotion around tournaments like this is geared towards children. Getting kids into the game, building the next generation and all of that is important, but standing there watching adults, passionate, knowledgeable, lifelong fans, show up in their numbers to give their time for free, I was reminded that we can't afford to take that group for granted either. These are the people who buy the tickets, fund the academies, drive their kids to training. The ones who've kept loving this sport through the quiet years. They deserve to feel like the game loves them back.

I think I've also made some lifelong friends, because some of the lovely ladies from the ceremony squad I got to work alongside across those four days, we're going to be staying in touch. We are also participating in a softball tournament together. I can't make the first one but I will be there for the next, and I genuinely can't wait.

What I Got Out of It

I'll be writing separately about the cricket itself, the T20 World Cup as a tournament, what impressed me, what concerned me, and everything I saw at Lord's during the final. There's plenty to say.

But this article was always just about one thing. What it felt like to be on the other side of it, even briefly.

I learned that social media criticism looks completely different when you're actually inside the thing being criticised. I learned that the people who put these events on make decisions you'll never fully understand from the outside, and they deserve more grace than they get. I learned that flag folding is harder than it looks and should absolutely be a corporate team building exercise. I learned that 11,000 Indian cricket fans can make more noise than 15,000 of anyone else. I learned that the women who played cricket before us, in conditions we will never fully appreciate, are the reason we get to watch what we watch today.

And I learned that if you get the chance to volunteer at something like this, you take it. Even if you have no idea what you're getting yourself into.

Especially if you have no idea what you're getting yourself into.

To everyone who made it what it was. Thank you. What an absolute dream.