NICK FRIEND AT BRISTOL looks back on the key moments from the first day of the one-off Test between England and India
For a time at the midpoint of the afternoon, one wondered – on a flat surface that offered slow turn to India’s pair of off-spinners – whether Mithali Raj might have regretted not selecting someone that spun the ball away from England’s band of right-handers.
Sneh Rana, winning her first international cap for five years, had seemed an unusual choice, even as she bowled admirably through the first half of the day, while Deepti Sharma’s stock as a white-ball finger-spinner is unquestioned, though unproven as a Test quantity.
But despite the inclusions of both left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and leggie Poonam Yadav in their squad, Raj and head coach Ramesh Powar – an off-spinner in his own playing days – thought otherwise. Against an opposition featuring not a single left-handed batter, it seemed a misstep. There was not enough bounce on the first day to regularly involve Shafali Verma at short leg, though she did take a fine low catch to dismiss Tammy Beaumont diving forward.
In the end, however, those calls were vindicated: Rana and Sharma accounted for five of the six wickets to fall, with Nat Sciver, Amy Jones and Heather Knight trapped in front and reviewing unsuccessfully, while Georgia Elwiss edged Rana to Sharma at slip.
Having been asked to field after losing the toss, that constituted a terrific effort, especially when England had been 230 for 2, before a position of dominance shifted by the close of play to become a match in the balance ahead of the second morning.
Sneh Rana took three wickets for India on her first day as a Test cricketer
Once news had filtered through of the nature of the pitch for this one-off Test, it was something of a surprise that England had opted the previous week to allow Sarah Glenn to return to Central Sparks for Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy action. What it meant was the home side were left with two spin options: Sophie Ecclestone – a shoo-in whatever the conditions – and Mady Villiers, a more leftfield pick but not without merit, given the presence of left-hander Smriti Mandhana at the top of India’s order.
Ultimately, they opted just for Ecclestone, with Heather Knight’s off-spin more than useful and Sophia Dunkley, whose leggies have not yet been seen this season for South East Stars, another who might be called upon as the game wears on.
“We’ve got one of the best spinners – if not the best spinner – in the world, so Sophie is definitely licking her lips to see how things progress,” said Knight afterwards.
They will want to see greater help for the seamers, however, having picked Kate Cross and Georgia Elwiss to accompany Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole and Nat Sciver – an attack that risks appearing samey: five right-armers with more than a hint of similarity between them.
It seemed a shame that no place could be found for either Tash Farrant or Emily Arlott, both of whom might have offered a point of difference and – in Farrant’s case – created a smattering of footmarks outside the right-hander’s off-stump.
Fans were back in to watch England Women for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic
All the talk before the match was about the pitch. “Am I surprised? No, not really,” said Lisa Keightley ahead of the first morning. “Am I extremely disappointed? Yeah, of course I am.”
Once the game began, the playing surface became secondary, though Knight suggested afterwards that the speed of the outfield across the ground’s long square made up for a lack of pace in the wicket – an opinion shared by Sneh Rana, who commented on its “slow” nature.
Knight expanded: “It was a little bit on the slow side, not a huge amount of carry. I thought it played okay. There was a little bit of turn; I think it might start to turn a little bit more as the game progresses, but I think it was okay. If you bowled straight for the seamers, it was quite hard to score. Luckily, we were able to put a bit of pressure back on their bowlers and take any chances.
“I think the score is good but it’s obviously a really important morning tomorrow for us to build on that and hopefully take the game forward if we can put a couple of partnerships together. If we can push that score up to 350, it gives us a chance to control the game, so hopefully we can do that in the morning.”
Heather Knight leads by example
On Tuesday, an ECB spokesperson explained: “We are all disappointed that the wicket for the LV= Insurance Test match against India will have had 37 overs played on it. We know that England Women deserve a fresh wicket, and we are sorry that we were unable to provide that in this instance.
“With the Test only being added to the calendar in mid-April, coupled with the lack of available first-class grounds, we knew a fresh TV pitch was going to be a challenge. We accept that this issue shouldn't have arisen and we will make sure it doesn't happen in the future.”
The next pitch over on one side of Gloucestershire’s square – and within the reach of television cameras – is a hybrid surface, while on the other side of the Test surface is the deck that was used when the county faced Surrey in their County Championship opener.
The respect for Heather Knight was obvious upon her dismissal: Jhulan Goswami, another titan of the international game, made sure to step out of India’s celebrations to pat her on the back. This is Knight’s hundredth appearance as England captain since taking on the significant mantle of replacing Charlotte Edwards, and it would have been fitting if a fine ambassador for the game – and an even better cricketer – could have marked the occasion with a second Test hundred.
She came within five runs of doing so, and it is difficult to quantify quite how impressive a feat that would have been, given the shortage of Test opportunities afforded in the women’s game and the levels of perfection required to switch out of white-ball mode in the manner that she managed today and eight years ago when her 157 against Australia helped England to regain the Ashes.
“It would have been lovely,” she admitted of her near-milestone. “I’m just really frustrated to be honest, I felt really comfortable out there, I felt like I was going really well and had worn the Indian bowlers down quite a lot and was starting to cash in a little bit on our hard work and was starting to score a bit more freely.
Sophia Dunkley is presented with her Test cap by teammate Georgia Elwiss
“Super frustrated, obviously the position the team were in as well, the partnership that me and Nat had we felt that we could take the game forward a lot faster because runs were coming a lot more easily, and then we lost a few wickets so I was frustrated at the time I got out as well for the team.
“We probably would have comfortably got up to 300 if that had been the case, but that's Test cricket isn't it. It ebbed and flowed quite brilliantly throughout the day and the Indians pulled it back quite nicely at the end.”
A pre-match video put together by the ECB featured several of her teammates and others within the English game, congratulating her but also offering more personal messages of thanks – not only for helping them as cricketers, but also for her qualities as a human being and an exemplary, generous, dignified leader.
A special day for Sophia Dunkley – and a significant moment for the English game a week on from the young batter’s first central contract. She became the first black woman to play Test cricket for England on Wednesday, receiving her cap from teammate Georgia Elwiss.
“I’m really, really proud to have (become the first black woman to play Test cricket for England),” she said. “It’s a very special day and hopefully it’s inspired a few boys and girls out there to pick up a cricket bat. A positive change in the world, but it’s very, very special.”
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