India and Australia Women likely to play first Test match in 15 years - Reports
India and Australia have reportedly been in long-running talks to stage a Test match between their women’s sides for the first time in 15 years. The ambitions finally look set to come to fruition in the proposed multi-format series between the two nations during the forthcoming Australian summer.
Since 1991, the Indian and Australian eves have locked horns with each other in the longest format just once, in February 2006. India were brutally beaten by an innings and four runs in Adelaide on that occasion.
Though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) are yet to finalise the schedule, media reports suggest the one-off Test will be included in the itinerary of India Women's Tour Down Under later this year.
India last played a women’s Test back in 2014 when the Mithali Raj-led side beat England by six wickets in Wormsley. However, they will now don the whites twice in the same year, with another Test against England scheduled for June 16. India will also play three ODIs and as many T20Is, with the UK sojourn ending on July 15 in Chelmsford.
After re-appointing Ramesh Powar as the head coach of India Women on Thursday, replacing WV Raman, the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is likely to select the squad for the England tour today. While Mithali Raj captained the previous two Tests, it’d be intriguing to see how things unfold under Powar, with whom Mithali had a fallout during the 2018 T20 World Cup.
"India would be very good at Test match cricket" - Australia captain Meg Lanning
In a gruelling Australian summer, both the men’s and women’s sides will partake in the Ashes. The assignment for Meg Lanning’s girls, though, holds greater significance as all the fixtures will serve as much-needed preparation in the lead up to the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand in March-April next year.
Lending voice to the need for the global development of women’s cricket, the Australian captain earlier sounded excited about battling India in a four-day tie.
“The more nations that are willing to play [Tests], the better it will be for women’s cricket around the world. They [India] would be very good at Test match cricket. It’s obviously a great format within cricket and we don’t get the chance to do it that often. I know speaking to a lot of players as well, they’d be jumping to get the chance to play more Tests,” Lanning said in March.
The last time the two sides met was in the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup, in front of 86,174 spectators at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Harmanpreet Kaur's women were handed a comprehensive 85-run defeat in the summit clash.
India Women are currently going through a rough patch, having lost both the limited-overs series against South Africa Women at home – 1-4 in ODIs and 1-2 in T20Is. Will a change in timezones bring about a change in fortunes? Only time can tell.