England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and decided to bowl first against India in the historic one-off Women’s Test at Lord’s on Friday. The game witnessed the famous venue mark its first-ever Women’s Test match.

The day also belonged to Smriti Mandhana, as she registered her 300th appearance in international cricket. The elegant opener became the youngest women’s cricketer to achieve the feat, surpassing the likes of Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur. Mandhana turned 30 this month on July 18, while being only the 12th women’s cricketer in history to play 300 matches.

Additionally, she is the third Indian women’s cricketer to enter the 300-match club. With Mandhana’s century, the opener has been in incredible form this year, scoring a ton in each of her past three innings. Earlier this year, she became the first-ever woman to score a century in the T20 World Cup warm-up fixtures.

Historic Lord’s Test Adds Another Chapter to India-England Rivalry

The one-off Test match is a landmark event in the sport, not only because it is the first Women’s Test ever at Lord’s – the Home of Cricket – but also because it is the 56th Women’s Test to be played in England, and the 9th at the County Ground in Worcester, which has hosted the most Women’s Tests in England, between 1951 and 2009.

The Women’s Test match that will be played on Friday will be the 16th-ever Women’s Test between India and England. India has an advantage as they have three wins, while England has only one – a thrilling two-run victory at Jamshedpur in 1995, which remains the closest Women’s Test match victory by runs. Of the remaining 11 matches, all have ended in a draw.

India has made their 10th Women’s Test appearance in England, having won two out of the previous nine Tests played on these shores, with the other seven ending in a draw.

The last Women’s Test match between the two sides had also ended in a draw in England in 2021. However, India’s most recent Test win over England came spectacularly at Navi Mumbai last December, when the hosts registered an emphatic 347-run win.

The Test match series also marks the retirement of one of the leading batters in England’s women’s cricket team, Tammy Beaumont. She will retire after the Test match, thus putting an end to one of the most remarkable professional women’s cricket careers in England’s national team.

Tammy Beaumont is notable for her incredible achievement of scoring the only double century in the history of women’s Test cricket.

Besides, Tammy Beaumont is one of only two female cricketers, along with her team-mate Heather Knight, to score centuries in Test, ODI and T20I formats. England is playing in their 103rd Women’s Test, while India is participating in their 43rd Women’s Test match.

Playing XIs

England Women: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wicketkeeper), Mady Villiers, Sophie Ecclestone, Issy Wong, Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer.

India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sayali Satghare, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud.