England face India in historic first women’s Test match at Lord’s

England will make history this Friday when they host India in the first-ever women’s Test match to be played at Lord’s.

The landmark fixture arrives less than a week after the home side suffered a crushing seven-wicket defeat to Australia in the T20 World Cup final at the same venue.

Nat Sciver-Brunt will now lead her squad down the famous pavilion steps to write a new chapter at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

A long-awaited milestone

Female spectators were famously barred from the Marylebone Cricket Club and its pavilion until March 1999.

This upcoming clash takes place exactly 50 years after Rachael Heyhoe Flint captained the first women’s white-ball match at the famous London ground.

However, a red-ball international has never been staged there since the inaugural women’s Ashes in 1934.

A damning 2023 report by the Independent Commission for Equality in Cricket heavily criticised this glaring omission, prompting a decisive change in attitude from the MCC.

Overcoming a formidable opponent

Head coach Charlotte Edwards understands the monumental scale of the occasion for both nations.

“It’s a historic Test match for us as a group and for the Indian team,” Edwards said.

“We can’t wait to play in front of a lot of people over the four days.”

To secure victory, the hosts must overcome a dismal red-ball record against the touring side.

You have to look back to a thrilling two-run victory in Jamshedpur in 1995 to find their only triumph over the Asian giants in 15 attempts.

The visitors have also remained completely unbeaten in nine Tests on British soil, boasting two wins and seven draws.

The most recent encounter between the two nations ended in a bruising 347-run defeat for the English side on the subcontinent in December 2023.