England vs India: Sophie Ecclestone leads the charge on day one of historic Lord’s Test

England v India, lone Test, Lord’s

India 285 (74.5 overs): Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68

England 21-1 (11 overs): Butcher 17*; Goud 1-8

England trail by 264 runs

Scorecard

Sophie Ecclestone became England’s all-time leading wicket-taker as the hosts fought back late on the first day of the first women’s Test at Lord’s.

Ecclstone claimed 3-68 to lead the charge with 338 off Catherine Sciver-Brunt as India were bowled out for 285 after Nat Sciver-Brunt decided to bowl first in surprisingly scorching conditions.

England faced a tough 11 overs in the final hour and finished 21–1, losing Tammy Beaumont for two in his final international appearance to level the match.

England recovered from a shaky opening session in which their bowlers looked rusty and tired after a short change from the World Twenty20 final at the same venue last Sunday.

Smriti Mandhana looked in brilliant touch for her 83 and Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma scored half-centuries, but India missed a chance to punish England in the heat as they lost their last seven wickets for 95 runs.

Lauren Bell bowled Yastika Bhatia beautifully before Lauren Filler removed Shafali Verma for a wicket to become the first woman to take a Test wicket at Lord’s, but Mandhana capitalized on loose bowling with Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur scoring 64 and 89 respectively.

England improved significantly after lunch as Mandhana’s scoring slowed and she was brilliantly caught by Amy Jones as she stood up to the stumps off EC Wang, sparking India’s collapse from 190-3.

Debutant Maddy Villiers ended Harmanpreet’s resistance for 58 runs before Ecclestone took the final three wickets, Sayali taking her maiden Catherine Syver-Brant international scalp tally of 335 in sevens.

Villiers finished with 2-79, with plenty of help from the spinners for a one-day pitch to keep England’s batsmen wary, especially with three more days of high temperatures expected.

More to follow.