﻿{
    "id": "196071",
    "author": "33",
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    "title": "England Women vs India Women at Lord\u2019s: Historic First Women\u2019s Test Set for Summer 2026",
    "lang": "en",
    "series": "1",
    "cup_year": "2026",
    "article_type": "Spacial",
    "excerpt": "Lord\u2019s will host its first-ever women\u2019s Test match in July 2026 as England Women face India Women under Harmanpreet Kaur. The landmark clash comes amid a blockbuster summer featuring the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup, record-breaking ticket sales, and major milestones in women\u2019s cricket history.",
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    "editor1": "<p>As per the full fixture list for 2026 international summer, featuring both the Men&rsquo;s and Women&rsquo;s teams, England has a packed season of cricket across all formats.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Talking of women&rsquo;s schedule, a highlight of the summer is the ICC Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup, scheduled from 12 June to 5 July 2026. England Women will play bilateral series against New Zealand, India, and Ireland on either side of the World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>For the first time, Lord&rsquo;s will host a women&rsquo;s Test match alongside the marquee England Men&rsquo;s Tests and the ICC Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup Final, in a blockbuster 2026 summer. England Women under Nat Sciver-Brunt shall face India in a Rothesay Test, at Lord&#39;s, from July 10. The historic moment shall mark 50 years of the first women&rsquo;s ODI at the Ground, a significant milestone in the growth of women&rsquo;s cricket in England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>MCC Chief Executive Rob Lawson said, &lsquo;To host a women&rsquo;s Test at Lord&rsquo;s is a huge honour. With attendances on the rise and over 19,000 tickets sold for our recent women&rsquo;s ODI, it&rsquo;s only fitting we now host a Test.&rsquo; However, the iconic venue is likely to break the UK Women&rsquo;s Test match attendance record, as until ten weeks prior to the Test at Lord&rsquo;s, over 23,207 tickets had been sold. With the match not starting until 10 July and the ICC Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup just before it, the ticket sales are expected to surge further.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Fifty years ago, Rachael Heyhoe Flint led a women&rsquo;s side onto the Main Ground, the Home of Cricket, and now the first ever women&rsquo;s Test match is scheduled here. The Ground will also host four matches in the ICC Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup, including the Final that has already sold out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>MCC has seen rapid progress in women&rsquo;s and girls&rsquo; cricket at Lord&rsquo;s during all these years, and the same momentum is continuing. Recently MCC celebrated the women&rsquo;s game with permanent visual markers which include:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>- The exhibitions on women&rsquo;s cricket in the MCC Museum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>- The installation of the Rachael Honey Flint Gate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>- A commemorative Women&rsquo;s Ashes plaque in the Harris Garden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>- A portrait of Charlotte Edwards in the Long Room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The women&rsquo;s Test with the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side is likely to see a fierce contest on the field over the four days as both sides will be looking to register a win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>There has been a long debate as to why England women have never played a Test match at Lord&rsquo;s, while their male side generally play there twice a year. It&rsquo;s on record that on both occasions England women have played at Lord&rsquo;s over the last two years, they attracted a large crowd:<br \/>\r\n*21,610 spectators watched England Women take on Australia in the 2023 Ashes at Lord&rsquo;s, the highest bilateral attendance for an England Women&rsquo;s home international.<br \/>\r\n*The Hundred women&rsquo;s final in 2025 at Lord&rsquo;s drew 22,542<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The fact is that the number of women&#39;s Tests is continuously decreasing and for the last three years no women&rsquo;s Test match has been played in England. Overall, the MCC has maintained a strict man&rsquo;s-only stance and that&rsquo;s why it has taken so many years for women to play a Test here. In 1986, when former India captain Diana Edulji was denied entry to the pavilion, she had suggested that the MCC change their name to MCP (male chauvinist pigs).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Time changed speedily subsequently and in 2017, after defeating India in the World Cup final in front of a packed crowd, Heather Knight said &lsquo;seeing Lord&rsquo;s sold out for a women&rsquo;s match is something I never thought I&rsquo;d see.&rsquo;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Important Lord&rsquo;s milestones wrt women&#39;s cricket:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>1967: For the first time, the idea of admitting women as members was discussed by the Committee.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>1976: The first women&rsquo;s ODI was played at Lord&rsquo;s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>1990: A membership application from one R. Flint (Rachael Honey Flint, the most prominent woman cricketer of her generation) stirred the MCC.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>1998: The Women&rsquo;s Cricket Association merged into the new England and Wales Cricket Board, headquartered at Lord&rsquo;s. This again started the discussion on membership for women. Ultimately, the rules were changed to make either men or women eligible to apply to become members of MCC. A few months later, a group of 10 women were granted Honorary Life Membership.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In 2021, Clare Connor CBE, former England captain, the first woman to lead her country to an Ashes win in 42 years, and at that point the ECB&rsquo;s Managing Director of Women&rsquo;s Cricket, became the first ever female president of the MCC. The MCC presidency runs annually, and Connor&rsquo;s one-year tenure formally began on 1 October 2021 (after the term of her predecessor, Kumar Sangakkara, was extended by a year due to COVID).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>2023: The birthplace of the Women&#39;s Ashes was honoured in a formal plaque ceremony in the Harris Garden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h5><b>Also Read: <\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/live-cricket-score\">Live Cricket Score<\/a><\/h5><p>When India Women take on England Women in the first ever women&#39;s Test match at Lord&#39;s, it will be a truly special occasion, and one of real significance for the game.<\/p>\r\n",
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    "created": "2026-05-17 10:25:51",
    "updated": "2026-05-17 10:25:51",
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    "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-special\/england-women-vs-india-women-at-lords-historic-first-womens-test-set-for-summer-2026-196071"
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