Who Dares, Wins
Test matches between England and India are always special, no matter the location, but this one reaches a new level: the first ever women’s Test at Lord’s.
It is nearly fifty years since the first time women played at Lord’s, an ODI between England and Australia on 4th August 1976. It is difficult to compute that it is five decades later for there to be a Test at this venue. Hopefully the first of many.
The wonderful crowd support for the recent T20 World Cup has overflowed into the Test arena as the first day of this Test is sold out, with Day Two not far behind. Players, ex-players, scribes, fans – everyone is well aware of just how significant the occasion and no-one wants to miss out.
World Cup Pain
Both teams will still be smarting at their respective World Cup disappointments. For England it is only a few days ago that they suffered defeat in the final and here now they must put that behind them and focus on a Test match. Easier said than done. On a positive note they’re not playing Australia in this Test.
For India, their early exit from the Cup may have been a blessing in disguise. They’ve now had 12 days to get over their T20 woes and practice with the red ball. In truth, an almost perfect preparation for the Test: they’ve been in England for over a month, they’ve been playing hard cricket against the best in the world and they’ve acclimatised.
The key learning for both teams, in particular their games against Australia, is that they were too timid in their approach. Both finished with plenty of wickets in hand but an average score, mowed down by a team who leave nothing in the bag. So the question remains, who will be the most adventurous? Who dares, wins.
Conditions
London is experiencing a heat wave at present and the forecast is predicting more of the same. Both days one and two are 30 degrees, while Sunday and Monday are high 20s. There is no rain forecast so weather is likely to be ideal for cricket – perhaps more ideal for the Indian players than for England.
Recent matches at this ground have produced plenty of runs and few wickets. No side was bowled out in any of the games from the World Cup. In the most recent match, the final, over 300 runs scored with only 7 wickets falling. It was similar with the Australia v India Pool match – 340+ runs with only 8 wickets falling.
With the recent pitch debacle at Lord’s in a men’s Test, curators have erred on the side of caution since, so it could be reasonably assumed that will be the case here.
If that is correct the team winning the toss will want to bat and waltz their way to 400 plus – that may even happen on the first day, given the modern day rates of scoring and both of these teams display that ability and both teams are capable of mounting a massive first innings score.
England
While there have been reports that skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt may not play, they’re merely speculative and if there was a doubt, Charlie Dean would have been in the quad. NSB will play but will not bowl. That does impact the selection of the final eleven.
The batting is easy to work through but the bowling less clear. Opening up will be Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier. Tammy is playing her final game for England after a glittering 17 year career. The only England batter to have scored a double century, she’ll be very keen to go out on a high note.
Sciver-Brunt will likely bat at three, followed by Heather Knight, also probably playing her final match for England. The veteran and former captain has two of the top ten highest innings for England in Tests, two scores of 150 plus. That experience in the middle order is gold.
Alice Capsey and Amy Jones will round out the top six. That does leave out Emma Lamb but unless that player is opening there is little point in her being in the batting line-up. Jones at six is a bit of a gamble, given her recent poor batting form but such is her importance as a wicket keeper, she must play. Being able to fit her in the top six means England can play five specialist bowlers – needed because NSB can’t bowl.
Does England go in with a three prong pace attack? They must for there are not three Test quality spinners. There have been suggestions about leaving out Lauren Bell but that would leave the pace options very thin. With Lauren Filer and Issy Wong, the pace attack looks solid and all have Test experience.
Sophie Ecclestone‘s class and experience demands one of the spin options. The other is up in the air but expect to see Tilly Corteen-Coleman make her Test debut. That does leave five bowlers to get through 100 overs in a day. That’s twenty each. For sure Heather Knight can roll the arm over, and with a degree of competence, but’s unlikely. Those five bowlers will earn their money.
Fielding is an area where England have shown some improvement but they are still subject to the occasional brain fade. Amy Jones is key here, setting the tone for the fielding standard from ball one.
Squad
Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Lauren Filer, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Sophie Ecclestone, Heather Knight, Amy Jones, Lauren Bell, Emma Lamb, Grace Potts, Mady Villiers, Eleanor Threlkeld, Issy Wong
India
India look to be the team with more options available. Whether they make the right selection choice is another thing. They have the potential to play three left handed batters in the top seven, a decisive advantage they would be wise to exploit.
The absence from the squad of Pratika Rawal means that Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma will open the batting. Both know how to bat long in Test cricket, the latter with a double century in this format and the former, two big centuries.
Number three is interesting and open for debate. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will bat at four – great experience and an outstanding record in white ball cricket. Less so in Tests with just one half century in eleven innings. In good form during the World Cup she’ll look to improve her Test record here. At five is Jemimah Rodrigues with a Test average over 50 and with four half centuries in seven innings.
To get to number six we have to return to the number three spot. The two candidates are Harleen Deol and Yastika Bhatia. The advantage with Yastika is that she’s a left hander and she can also keep wickets, in fact a better keeper than Richa Ghosh. Does India play Yastika at three, and keep? The alternative is Harleen at three and Yastkia at six, still keeping wickets.
I suspect none of that will happen. India place a higher value on the quick runs Richa can score over the runs she gives away behind the stumps. They can get away with it, to a degree, in T20s but keeping in a Test match is a much bigger proposition. India is likely to stick with Richa, putting her at six – it doesn’t solve the number three question. Yastika has Test experience while Harleen would be making her debut.
Five bowlers, same as England. The mix will be slightly different, with India to play three spinners – for they have three quality spinners – and two quicks. Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani and Sneh Rana are a lock for the spin bowling positions. Shree Charani, the leading wicket taker from the World Cup, will be licking her lips at the prospect of bowling to a team full of right handers. She could be particularly devastating bowling on day four. Sneh Rana has best figures of 8-87, but is generally there to bowl a lot of overs and keep an end tied down. Also very handy with the bat.
Renuka Singh takes one of the fast bowling spots, while the second is up for grabs. Neither Kranti Gaud nor Nandani Sharma had strong World Cup performances so it is probably a toss up, but they’ll likely go with Kranti, if nothing more, her fighting qualities.
Like England, the fielding quality has improved markedly, but also like the home side, prone to lapses in concentration. If they can minimise those lapses it will feed straight back into the bowling unit.
Squad
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Richa Ghosh (wk), Priya Punia, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sayali Satghare, Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma
Who Dares, Wins
These are both quality teams and with enough experience at Test level to know what it takes to win. Both were conservative in their approach during the World Cup. The team that shrugs aside the disappointment of that campaign and is prepared play daring cricket will win this match. It will not be a draw.
