Ind vs Eng: 142 years after men's, Lord's hosts first-ever Women's Test

Published 8 July 2026 · sports

Photo/Agencies Head-to-head record Where to watch Lord's Test Female spectators were not allowed into the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) or the Pavilion at Lord's until

Photo/Agencies Head-to-head record Where to watch Lord's Test Female spectators were not allowed into the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) or the Pavilion at Lord's until March 1999. Now, just under 30 years later, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur are set to walk down those famous Pavilion steps to lead their teams in the first-ever women's Test match at cricket's most iconic venue.The England-India Test, beginning on Friday, will be the first women's Test at Lord's. It comes 142 years after the ground hosted its first men's Test.England Women have played 55 Test matches at 19 venues across the country since 1937. Lord's will become the 20th.England's women will finally take the field in a Test at the Home of Cricket - in whites, with a red ball, for four days, against India.

At Lord's. It is a moment that marks a new chapter for the women's game.The match comes exactly 50 years after Rachael Heyhoe Flint led England in the first women's match played at Lord's and reflects how far the women's game has come.Since the first Women's Ashes in 1934, England have played 55 Tests at 19 venues around the country, including several at The Oval, but never at Lord's.In June 2023, when England last hosted a women's Test at Trent Bridge, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) published a report calling it "truly appalling" that England Women had never played a Test at Lord's."The 'home of cricket' is still a home principally for men," the ICEC report said, a statement that may have prompted administrators to act.One key difference from men's Test cricket is that women's Tests are played over four days instead of five.

A minimum of 100 overs must be bowled each day, while the follow-on target is 150 runs instead of 200.There have been only two five-day women's Tests. The most recent was the 2023 Women's Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, which Australia won by 89 runs.To mark the occasion, Lord's Cricket Ground will host a special opening ceremony on the morning of Friday, July 10.Fifty of England's former women cricketers will reunite to ring the famous Lord's Five-minute Bell before the first ball. The group includes former stars Enid Bakewell, Claire Taylor and Isa Guha.The head-to-head record favours India.The two teams last met in a women's Test in December 2023, when India beat England by 347 runs in Navi Mumbai. India have won three of their last four Tests against England, although those matches date back to 2006.England's last Test win over India came in 1995, when they edged a thriller in Jamshedpur by just two runs.