
England were defeated by India by 270 runs in the first women’s Test match at Lord’s. Here are the players’ evaluations:
Maia Busier – 5
Batting average: 23, 2
Bouchier batted very well on the first evening, safely getting through a tricky time getting past the stumps, but he fell in the third over of the second morning, sparking England’s top-order collapse to 47-4 from which they never truly recovered.
She, like one or two others on this team, should be given a few more chances given a few notable retirements. She has to hold on to it.
Tammy Beaumont – 4
Batting averages: 2 and 0
It’s a shame that the great servant of English cricket bowed out as he scored just two runs in the farewell Test and the second-innings golden duck was particularly brutal.
Eventually, she was fouled by two cracking deliveries from Kranti Gaud and snarled again sharply, trapping her lbw on the first occasion and dropping stumps on the second occasion.
Her defense, as it has been throughout her career, was exemplary.
Heather Knight – 5
Batting average: 6, 13
Knight failed to manage much more as she closed the book on her international career. England’s most capped women’s player announced her decision mid-Test.
She was pinned up front by Sayali Satghare on the morning of the second day, and her final Test innings ended with her being given the bat pad at short leg.
Nat Cyber-Brunt – 6
Batting average: 44, 11
Like the rest of her team, the skipper looked exhausted after a gap of just four days between England’s T20 World Cup final loss to Australia and this historic first women’s Test at Lord’s.
Her second innings dismissal – bowling a sweep of the ball to Sneh Rana after being blocked by DRS – looked particularly tiring.
In the first innings, she did her best to rally the team along with Amy Jones, putting together an 84-run partnership for the fifth wicket after a top-order collapse on the second morning. But she ended up being one of Gaud’s five victims, giving the Indian seamer a seat on the Lord’s Honors Board.
Alice Capsey – 5
Batting average: 9, 21
A fairly forgettable Test debut for Capsey, who made modest contributions in both innings before being bowled.
It’s easy to forget that she’s still only 21 years old. Five years ago, she appeared as a 16-year-old in the first season of The Hundred.
With the rather large void left by Beaumont and Knight across all formats, I believe we are now approaching a critical period for Capsey to establish himself as a more consistent contributor to the team.
Amy Jones – 7
Batting average: 52, 54
Jones is welcomed back with the bat after struggling in the T20 World Cup. She scored just 50 runs in her tournament opener before going on to make only 5 runs in 6 innings.
She again hit half-centuries here, making two of them while providing greater resistance than her top teammates. Although her dismissal of Rana in both innings was ultimately quite soft.
Jones also took a couple of excellent catches, coming against Smriti Mandhana in the first innings and again down the leg side of Mandhana in the second innings.
Maddie Villiers – 7
Batting averages: 10, 26; Bowling: 2-79 and 0-42
It was an impressive comeback for England after making just five appearances in the past five years, including three ODIs and two T20s against Ireland at the end of the summer of 2024.
Villiers, making his Test debut, put in a standout performance on day one, taking 2-79. She and Issy Wong were rewarded with a spell of scrutiny after lunch, which helped draw England back into proceedings after a bad morning. The off-spinner’s dismissal of Harmanpreet Kaur through the gate was a particular highlight.
We also got a glimpse of the batting depth she could offer, especially in the second innings, and a truly sensational reflex catch from Richa Ghosh at foolish mid-off put an end to her fun.
Sophie Ecclestone – 8
Bowling: 3-68 and 5-118; Batting average: 11, 50
As with his frequent appearances for England, Ecclestone was one of their best performers. And, arguably, it wasn’t just with the ball as she notched up her career best and maiden half-century on the final morning, hinting at her untapped potential with the bat.
She cleaned up the Indian lower order in the first innings to become England’s all-time leading wicket-taker across the format, and claimed her fourth Test five in the second round to earn her a deserved and coveted spot on the Lord’s Honors Board.
Ishi Wong – 6
Bowling: 2-41 and 0-68; Batting average: 7no and 1
Wong took the key wicket of Mandhana as they made 83 in the first innings, sparking the Indian collapse from 190-3 to 285 after she and Villiers worked together well to work back England’s way.
However, it doesn’t matter much in the second round and proves to be expensive above 4.85. This level of consistency is still a problem for young fast bowlers.
Lauren Bell – 5
Bowling: 1-50 and 2-27; Batting Average: 3 and 0
It wasn’t her best outing. England are struggling to get any kind of grip on the Test match after a poor first hour that saw India post 100 runs in just over 18 overs.
She bowled Yastika Bhatia in beautiful form during that period but showed improvement in the second innings after bowling just 9 overs at a cost of 50 runs in the first innings. At this point it was a little late in the context of the game.
Lauren Files – 4
Bowling: 2-40 and 0-61; Batting average: 0 and 4no
Filer was fouled for being a bit undercooked for this game as he had not played cricket for the past month while warming the bench during the T20 World Cup.
Her second ball in the entire Test – a snort to convey Shafali Verma’s edge to Jones – was probably as good as it could get for a fast bowler who disappeared without miles on her legs.
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