England v India, one-off Test, Lord’s
India 285 (74.5 overs): Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68
England 21-1 (11 overs): Bouchier 17*; Gaud 1-8
England trail by 264 runs
Scorecard
Sophie Ecclestone became England’s all-time leading wicket-taker across all formats as the hosts fought back late on day one against India of the first women’s Test at Lord’s.
Ecclstone claimed 3-68, to move above Katherine Sciver-Brunt with 338 wickets, as India were bowled out for 285 after Nat Sciver-Brunt surprisingly chose to bowl first in scorching conditions.
England were faced with a tricky 11 overs in the final hour and finished 21-1, having lost Tammy Beaumont for two in her final international appearance to leave the match evenly poised.
England recovered from a shaky opening session where their bowlers looked rusty and tired after a short turnaround from the T20 World Cup final at the same venue last Sunday.
Smriti Mandhana looked in sparkling touch for her 83 and Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma made half-centuries, but India missed an opportunity to punish England in the heat as they lost their final seven wickets for 95 runs.
Lauren Filer removed Shafali Verma for a duck to become the first woman to take a Test wicket at Lord’s before Lauren Bell bowled Yastika Bhatia with a beauty, but Mandhana capitalised on the loose bowling that followed with stands of 64 and 89 with Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur respectively.
England improved significantly after lunch as Mandhana’s scoring slowed and she was brilliantly caught by Amy Jones standing up to the stumps off Issy Wong, which triggered India’s slump from 190-3.
Debutant Mady Villiers ended Harmanpreet’s resistance on 58 before Ecclestone took the final three wickets, her first of Sayali Satghare taking her past Katherine Sciver-Brunt’s tally of 335 international scalps.
Villiers finished with 2-79, with plenty of assistance for the spinners for a day one pitch for England’s batters to be wary of, especially with another three days of high temperatures expected.
