England to begin women's international summer with India Test

England will also host India and New Zealand in ODI and T20I series, with 14 white-ball games scheduled alongside a rare Test opportunity

India tour of England 2021: Full fixture list

New Zealand tour of India 2021: Full fixture list

England will face India in a one-off Test at Bristol to begin the women’s international summer in June.

The Test, which was mooted by BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a tweet sent on International Women’s Day, had not been confirmed until now. England have played just seven red-ball matches in the last decade, last facing India in a six-wicket defeat in 2014.

As for this summer’s tourists, Mithali Raj’s side last lined up for a Test match seven years ago, beating South Africa.

“It’s a great addition,” England captain Heather Knight said of the move to add a rare four-day fixture to a calendar otherwise dominated by white-ball cricket.

With an upcoming Ashes series in Australia to consider as well, it will offer England a rare opportunity to hone their Test skills.

“I love playing Test cricket,” explained Knight, whose 157 in a 2013 Ashes Test draw at Wormsley makes her the only England cricketer – male or female – to have recorded international hundreds in all three formats.

“We don’t play much of it, but when I do and I know the girls do, we really enjoy it and really enjoy the challenge of doing something we don’t do very often, and something – multi-innings cricket – we don’t do growing up.

“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 women’s cricket around the world and we’ve seen that over the last five years, but I’d love to keep playing Test cricket.

“I’d love to see the multiformat series that we do for the Ashes as the norm going forward. I’d love to play a Test match in India, I think it would be a massive challenge. One of my proudest moments in an England shirt is scoring a Test century, and that speaks to the way that Test cricket is seen.”

^{Heather Knight captained England in New Zealand earlier this year}

Although the Test represents the pinnacle of a busy schedule, England are also due to play eight ODIs in preparation for next year’s World Cup, as well as six T20Is, with the Commonwealth Games also on the horizon.

Following the Test, India will play a three-match 50-over series, followed by a trio of T20Is. New Zealand, where England toured to begin 2021, will then arrive for a limited-over bonanza in September, with the first of three T20Is taking place at Chelmsford on September 1, before five ODIs to end the season between September 16 and September 26.

“I think it’s great that loads of women’s cricket is happening again around the world,” said Knight, referencing the recent return of international series involving Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and India.

“Certain teams haven’t played, which isn’t ideal in terms of cricket for them leading up to a World Cup. Hopefully they’ll get back playing soon because ultimately, as a cricketer, you want a completive world game to create games that people want to watch, and to test yourself against really good players and teams.

“So, it’s not ideal that those teams haven’t been playing but as a whole I think the feeling around women’s cricket is pretty positive; there’s a packed summer for us and a packed calendar next year in terms of world events.

“So, things are hopefully looking really positive now. I’ve always said I though Covid could be a really good chance to kind of wipe the slate clean and rebuild structures – in the women’s game and international cricket – and hopefully things like will start to be seen in the coming years.”

^{England in Test action against India at Wormsley in 2014}

Having played solely at Derbyshire’s Incora County Ground in 2020 as part of bio-secure restrictions, England are scheduled to travel the country this time around.

As well as Bristol hosting the Test, the international roadshow is also set to reach Taunton, Worcester, Northampton, Hove, Chelmsford, Leicester, Canterbury and Derby.

On whether there was any disappointment that none of the games would be staged at a major Test-playing ground, especially on the back of the atmosphere generated by the T20 World Cup final at the MCG, Knight was philosophical.

“I think in terms of the women's game, it works really well at smaller venues, the places like Taunton or Bristol where people really come and support us and you have those big crowds,” she said. “Chelmsford as well has been amazing sport in the women's game – you have those big crowds in the small venues that really create an atmosphere.

“I'd love to play Lord's, and obviously, we will be playing there at the Hundred. So hopefully we can build some support and start to build some big crowds for that. But I think at the moment, in terms of playing at the smaller venue, I think it works really well for women's cricket.”

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