The schedule for India Women’s tour of England has been announced with the tour starting on June 16 with a one-off Test in Bristol.
Indian Women Cricket team will be travelling to England in June for a seven-match tour consisting of one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. It is also learnt that limited crowds will be allowed for the games, which would be a great thing for women’s cricket.
The lack of attention to Women’s Cricket from the BCCI, whether about the women’s T20 IPL tournament or International scheduling, has been met with deserving criticism from all quarters in recent times. Earlier, Jay Shah, announced that India Women’s team will play a longer format in England late in 2021.
This will be the first Test match for India Women in seven years. India last played a Test in November 2014 against South Africa. Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, whose careers have lasted over two decades, have only been part of 10 Test matches in their careers.
However, the major disappointment among the fans is that this Test will clash with the ICC World Test Championship final, in which India men’s team will take on New Zealand on June 18 at the Rose Bowl Southampton.
Heather Knight is looking forward to put on a show against India
England’s women’s cricket team captain Heather Knight is excited for the series and particularly for the Test match as she believes it’s important to keep Test cricket alive.
“It’s really important that we keep Test cricket going in the women’s game. Realistically, T20 is the sport that’s going to grow the women’s game around the world. I think we’ve seen that over the last five years, but I’d love to keep playing Test cricket.”
Knight said.
The two teams last played against each other in the longest format in 2014 where India had defeated the hosts at the Sir Paul Getty’s Ground.
Chasing a target of 181 in the fourth innings, India registered a victory over England by six wickets with the help of fifties from Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj. Jhulan Goswami had picked five wickets in the match.
Heather Knight was part of the Test match these two teams played in 2014. However, she couldn’t make any impact. Opening the batting for the hosts, Knight had scores of 0 & 1 in the two innings as Indian bowlers bundled out England on 92 & 202. She is itching to set things straight against India this time around.
“I remember it being a real occasion playing against India in a Test Match (In 2014). So, I think it’s going to be the same this time. Playing Test cricket feels very special. It’s definitely rated very highly amongst the players. We don’t play India very often, so I think it’s going to be a real occasion for them. I think they’ll be massively excited. Hopefully, we can put on a show and make it a really good game.”
she added.
Full Schedule of India Women’s tour of England
The schedule for India Women’s tour of England is as follows. The one Test and the first ODI will take place at Bristol before moving to Taunton. The tour will end on July 15.
| 1st Test | Bristol, 16-19 June |
| 1st ODI | Bristol, June 27 |
| 2nd ODI | Taunton, June 30 |
| 3rd ODI | Worcester, July 3 |
| 1st T20I | Northampton, July 9 |
| 2nd T20I | Hove, July 11 |
| 3rd T20I | Chelmsford, July 15 |
