ENGLAND’S NEXT TEST- Lord’s hosts its first women’s Test match
So you’ve caught the cricket bug from the World Cup and now you want more?
Fear not, England are straight back into it with a rare women’s Test match against India – the first ever at Lord’s, in fact.
So for anyone who has got used to the crash-bang rhythm of T20, there’s bad news and good news. Test cricket is longer, more complicated, and more tactical. But absolutely worth sticking with.
Gethin Thurlow is here to tell you why it’s still the same sport, but very much a different game from T20.
“The matches last a week?”
Well not quite, but, yes, four days.
Whereas T20s are a straight battle between runs scored in each team’s 20-over innings, Test matches are more complicated.
The premise is still the same – the team with the most runs wins. However that is after two batting innings, of no set length. A batting innings lasts until 10 wickets have been lost, or in certain situations, you can choose to end your innings early, should it benefit you (known as declaring).
This obviously changes the whole complexion of the game. With only 20 overs to play with, both teams have to play with restricting runs in mind rather than taking wickets. While taking wickets can be good for the fielding side and bad for the batters, ultimately the rate of run scoring is more important for the overall score.
In short formats, batters will be more aggressive in trying to hit boundaries – risking getting out – while the fielding team will look more to limit the runs conceded.
In a Test match however, wickets are everything.
Batters will do anything to protect them and the bowlers will do their best to take them.
While runs still matter of course, the best route to a high score is to stay in for a while, get your eye in, and then start playing shots. The fielding side will be far more willing to leave gaps in the field and allow runs to go, as they’ll be more likely to take wickets by being aggressive.
What you’ll often see, particularly at the start of the innings, is three or four fielders next to the wicket keeper. These are called ‘slips’, and are there just to catch the ball.
Still with me?
The red ball they use in Test matches is different to the white ball of limited-overs matches. It is much more susceptible to atmospheric conditions – moisture, for example – which makes the ball move in the air when being bowled. This can make batters misjudge the line of the ball and edge the ball just wide of the keeper and, hopefully, into the hands of the slips. Wickets are key in Test match cricket.
Learn a bit more about the red ball from England bowler, Issy Wong:
Cricket, and Test cricket especially, are much more complicated and less linear than games like football, but that’s what makes it so unique and brilliant.
In Test matches, you could have both teams setting equal first innings scores and turning the game into a one inning affair or a 200-run lead for one side after each team batted once. Every ball has the ability to change the match or simultaneously have no impact at all. There’s a chess-like element to Test cricket.
A 20-minute period of three wickets can turn the game on its head or a tough spell for the batters where they fight through without losing a wicket can prove crucial later on when they’re cashing in the runs. Unlike T20 cricket, the result might not be known until all four days have been played. Or it may get decided before the end of Day Three.
They all wear white, on-field decisions can change everything, and the weather can seriously impact a result. All adding to Test cricket’s charm.
Oh yeah, and you can sit through four days of cricket and it can end in a draw.
Are England any good?
For England it’s a pretty similar story to the other forms of the game. Generally, they can win against most teams, except, of course, Australia. However, they haven’t beaten India in this format recently.
With only two Test matches in recent history – a draw in England in 2021 and a dominant India victory at home in 2023 – England do have a little bit of a point to prove. With a maiden Test match at Lords, what better place to hit back and show that the Charlotte Edwards era is delivering progress.
Where can I watch?
England v India
Friday 10th July-Monday 13th July, Lord’s Cricket Ground
Play starts 11am each day
Sky Sports Cricket in the UK
Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV in India
Photo credits: ECB Instagram
