Uncapped Arshdeep ‘told to be ready’ as India eye series equaliser at The Oval
Speaking ahead of the crucial match, Gill said, “We will take a decision tomorrow. Wicket looks very green. So let’s see.”
England won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the historic one-off women’s Test at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Friday—the first women’s Test ever to be played at the iconic venue.
England handed debut caps to batting all-rounder Alice Capsey and off-spinner Mady Villiers, while the match also marks the final international appearance of opener Tammy Beaumont.
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India, meanwhile, gave a Test debut to left-arm spinner N Sree Charani. Yastika Bhatia will bat at No. 3 after Pratika Rawal was ruled out with a laceration to her right knee.
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Captains’ take at toss
Nat Sciver-Brunt (England):
“The most we can get out of the wicket as bowlers will be now. We are looking forward to getting out there as a team. We are stood here on such a special occasion. We are the custodians of our team and have had that passed on from amazing people in the past.”
Harmanpreet Kaur (India):
“This is a great opportunity for us to put runs on the board, so let’s see how it goes. It is a big achievement for us playing at Lord’s and we are very excited about it. We are going with two pacers and three spinners.”
Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull believes the surface will offer early assistance to the seamers, with around 7mm of grass left on the pitch.
“There is a tufty covering of grass, so I think it will offer a bit of seam. As the great Shane Warne said, ‘If it seams, it spins.’ The ball will slide on at medium pace, it won’t be overly quick. Bowlers will probably have to be a bit fuller at Lord’s,” Doull observed.
Playing XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Sayali Satghare, Sneh Rana, N Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud.
England: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wicketkeeper), Mady Villiers, Sophie Ecclestone, Issy Wong, Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer.
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