The hallowed turf and the Long Room have witnessed countless historic moments, but the air felt undeniably different on Friday morning. Ninety-one years after the first women’s Test match was contested, the format finally arrived at the Home of Cricket when England welcomed India for the one-off Test match.
The emotional weight of the day was encapsulated before a ball was even bowled as a group of former England internationals, pioneers who were once denied the opportunity to play Test cricket on these greens, rang the ceremonial five-minute bell.
Smriti Mandhana leads the way as Harmanpreet Kaur assists
Once the emotions settled, a fiercely competitive game broke out on a pitch that offered plenty of drama. Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and elected to bowl first, a bold move reminiscent of Rachael Heyhoe Flint’s choice in the groundbreaking 1976 ODI at the same ground. Early on, India looked determined to spoil the host’s party. Despite Lauren Filer capturing an early breakthrough by dismissing Shafali Verma, India’s batting spine stood incredibly tall.
Smriti Mandhana led the way and batted with effortless majesty, blending her signature classical cover drives with authoritative slog-sweeps to score a brilliant 83. At one stage it felt like she would join 10 other Indians on the honours board in the visiting team’s dressing room with a century at Lord’s. But a sharp catch from the wicket-keeper Amy Jones ended her innings 17 runs shy of the three-figure mark. Alongside her, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur defied a lingering hand injury to grind out a gritty 58. When Deepti Sharma chimed in with a calculated half-century of her own, India threatened to completely run away with the match at 190 for three.
Sophie Ecclestone shines as England bowlers restricts India’s run fest
However, Lord’s rewards patience, and England’s bowlers roared back into the contest during a dramatic evening session. Issy Wong broke the definitive partnership by coaxing an edge from Mandhana, before debutant Mady Villiers produced the delivery of the day, a sharp, turning off-spin that castled Kaur just before tea.
But the grandest moment belonged to Sophie Ecclestone. Having bowled 20 fruitless overs, England’s premier spinner single-handedly flipped the match on its head by snatching three wickets in just six balls to wrap up the tail. In doing so, Ecclestone surpassed Katherine Sciver-Brunt to become the all-time leading wicket-taker for England Women across all formats, walking off to a roaring ovation from a crowd of over 10,000.
India were ultimately bowled out for a highly respectable 285, but they would have hoped for much more. Faced with a tricky 45-minute spell before stumps, England suffered a major blow when Kranti Gaud trapped the retiring Tammy Beaumont leg-before for just 4. England reached stumps at 21 for one, leaving this historic, long-awaited Test match perfectly poised for an exciting weekend of cricket.
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