Historic women’s Test begins at Lord’s, India bowled out for 285

India’s first women’s Test innings at Lord’s ended at 285 all out. England won the toss and chose to field in the match from July 10 to 13, 2026, the first women’s Test ever staged at the ground, 142 years after Lord’s hosted its first men’s Test.

The occasion was built months earlier, when the Marylebone Cricket Club announced on August 22, 2024 that Lord’s would host the fixture exactly 50 years after Rachael Heyhoe Flint first led out an England Women’s side there. More than 50 legends of English women’s cricket were due back at the ground during the Test. England named a 15-player squad, with five players in line for Test debuts.

India looked set for a much larger total when Smriti Mandhana made 83, Harmanpreet Kaur added 58 and Deepti Sharma scored 57. But after reaching 190 for 3, India lost their last seven wickets for 95 runs and were dismissed in 74.5 overs. England’s wicketkeeper Amy Jones took a breakthrough behind the stumps, and India’s lower order was unable to restore the innings once the top order had done the early damage.

England’s reply was reduced quickly when Tammy Beaumont was out for 2, leaving the home side on 21 for 1 after 11 overs and trailing by 264 runs at stumps. Nat Sciver-Brunt, leading England in a Test at Lord’s, became the first English woman to captain her side there in the format, while Harmanpreet called the match a “very big moment” and said a win at Lord’s would help India move on from their disappointing early exit from the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup. England and India had met in women’s Tests before, including the draw at Bristol in June 2021, but Lord’s became the 20th venue to stage an England women’s Test after stops that included Trent Bridge and The Oval.