Lord’s Confirmed as Venue for Historic Women’s Test Between These Cricketing Giants

Lord’s Cricket Ground in London is one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world. For over 200 years, it has been the beating heart of the cricketing universe. It is the place where records are broken and legends are made. But somehow, through all this, there’s one thing that has never happened at Lord’s. It has never hosted a women’s Test match.

However, in July 2026, history is set to be created as England and India will clash against each other in what will be the first-ever women’s Test match at Lord’s. It’s indeed a big thing not just for women’s cricket but for the entire cricketing world.

Lords Women's Test

The first women's Test match at Lords will witness India and England taking on each other in July 2026. Both teams are considered to be among the top teams in women's cricket and the match is expected to be a thriller. The Lords Women's Test in 2026 between India and England will be historic in its own sense.

The two nations, England and India, will also be seen facing each other in three T20Is at Chelmsford on May 28, Bristol on May 30, and Taunton on June 2. The Chief Executive Officer of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Richard Gould, released a statement on the same, while also adding that the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be the highlight of the summer next year.

“We're thrilled that Lord's will host an England Women's Test match for the first time, marking a really special period of time for the women's game. The highlight of the summer will undoubtedly be the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, hosted here in England for the first time since 2009. It's a huge moment for the women's game, for Nat Sciver-Brunt and her team, and it's a fantastic opportunity to inspire the next generation of players and fans,” an ECB statement quoted Gould as saying.

What Happened when India and England Played a Test Last Time?

India Women and England Women last clashed against each other in a Test match on December 14, 2023. The contest took place at the DY Patil Stadium as India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat first. Her decision to bat first turned out to be a great decision as a collective effort from all the batters helped India to put up 428 runs in the first innings. England too had a brilliant batting lineup, and it looked like they’ll also put up a total of something around 400.

But India’s veteran all-rounder, Deepti Sharma, had different things in mind. She claimed a wonderful five-wicket haul, shattering the lower-middle order of the English team. The Heather Knight-led side could only score 136. India came to bat again and added 186 runs more to their humongous lead.

England were given a target of 478 runs. But once again, it was Deepti who came out as a threat for the English batter, taking four wickets in the second innings. Her all-round performance helped India to win the match by a huge margin of 337 runs, and she was named the Player of the Match.

But playing at Lord’s would bring a different kind of challenge for the India team. The Lords women's cricket match will be highly-awaited for the fans. The surface at Lord’s usually favours seamers, so it can be said that Deepti might not be highly effective there. But she has a lot of experience and also knows how to use her abilities even when the conditions are not favouring.

The Indian team defeated England 3-2 in the five-match T20I series and 2-1 in the three-match ODI series, which says a lot about how strong this Indian lineup is, especially in the white ball. But as Gould announced that a one-off Test is set to be played at Lord’s, it’ll be interesting to see if the Indian team will be able to continue their dominance in red-ball cricket as well or not.