England Women captain Heather Knight was elated to play India in Test cricket almost after seven years in Bristol from June 16-19. She also stressed the need to make the multi-format series as norms in order to keep Test cricket as part of the women's game around the world.
While India Women have gone over six years without a Test game, England women’s cricket team played a solitary Test match against Australia during the Ashes 2019 series – which is also a multi-format series, but the two teams haven’t faced each other in the longest form since a defeat to India in 2014.
With women’s cricket now centered on the 50-over and 20-over formats, a Test is a rarity in the calendar with just eight such fixtures played in the past decade — and six of those in Ashes contests between England and Australia.
Knight said she loves to play Test cricket and wants more red-ball games in the calendar year after the one-off Test against India confirmed on Tuesday.
Knight stated: “I love playing Test cricket. I'd love to keep playing Test cricket and I'd love to see the multi-format series we have for The Ashes - a Test match, three ODI, and three T20s - as the norm going forward. I'd love to play a Test match in India, as well. I think it would be a massive challenge.”
She further added, “It's really important that we keep Test cricket going in the women's game. Realistically, T20 is what'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 and to see the multi-format series that we do for the Ashes as the norm going forward. One of my proudest moments in an England shirt is scoring a Test century and that speaks for the way Test cricket is seen.”
On this summer's Test match against India, England's captain said: “It's going to be a really big occasion. I think it is a great addition. To know we have got two Test matches in nine months - the other in the Ashes - is really nice because usually, it is one every two years.”
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She signed off by saying, “I don't play much Test cricket but when I do, and the girls do, we really enjoy it, it is definitely rated highly among the players. We enjoy the challenge of doing something we don't do very often. Coming from the southwest, I'm really chuffed that it's going to be down at Bristol as well. Hopefully, we can put on a show.”
Here's the complete schedule for the England v India series:
16-19 June: Test match, Bristol
27 June: 1st ODI, Bristol
30 June: 2nd ODI, Taunton
3 July: 3rd ODI, Worcester
9 July: 1st T20, Northampton
11 July: 2nd T20, Hove
15 July: 3rd T20, Chelmsford
(With AFP Inputs)
