Nat Sciver-Brunt called on her England team-mates to show resilience in their historic Rothesay Test match against India at Lord’s on Friday, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
The England captain said the heartache of their seven-wicket defeat by Australia in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday left ‘mixed emotions’.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The England captain said her side still had ‘mixed emotions’ following their seven-wicket defeat to Australia
Her side have had to quickly dust themselves down and turn their attention to their upcoming match against India, which will mark the first time England will have ever played a Test match at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
More than 30,000 tickets have already been sold for the four-day match, a record for a women’s Test in the UK.
Sciver-Brunt spoke of her pride at what she and her team-mates achieved during the World Cup, but added the change to red ball cricket had come at a welcome time.
“There’s some disappointment about the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“The beauty of being here now is that it’s a change of format and the polar opposite to T20 cricket. We’ve got some fresh faces into our squad who are bringing some great energy as well.
England have never played a Test match at Lord’s, with this weekend’s match having already sold a record 30,000 tickets
“I’m sure the disappointment of the final won’t have left lots of people, but we are looking forward to such a special week here at Lord’s, doing something that we dreamt of as kids. It’s a great time to be a women’s cricketer.”
In preparation for the match against India, England took two days to recharge before returning to training on Wednesday.
The last time England played red ball cricket was back in January 2025, when they were beaten by Australia by an innings and 122 runs. Prior to that, their most recent Test match on home soil came in 2023.
Sciver-Brunt said she would love to play more Test matches if the schedule allowed, before calling on her players to rebound following Sunday’s defeat to Australia.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sciver-Brunt assured reporters on Thursday that her team would look to go into each day against India with ‘proper determination’
“I think there’s a lot of resilience that needs to be shown during a Test match and ride the waves of energy that you’ll have,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“But some proper determination will go into every day we’ll be playing here.”
Potential Test debuts could be given to Surrey’s Alice Capsey and Tilly Corteen-Coleman, while Mady Villiers could also win her first cap.
But India will pose a tough test for England. Of their 15 meetings in the red ball format, England have only beaten India once, a two-run win in Jamshedpur in 1995.
As they bid to break that winning drought, Sciver-Brunt is hopeful her team will stand up to the challenges India’s batters will pose England.
England have beaten India just once in their last 15 meetings in the Test format
“India have had lots of success and some very experienced top batters that love batting for a long time.
“It’s really drilled into the India batters that ‘the value of your wicket is so important’. They will pose some great challenges for us to navigate.
“I’m sure we’ll be thrown lots of different things while we are out there and hopefully we can throw some things back.”
‘Beaumont will be missed’
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tammy Beaumont became emotional as she reflected on her decision to retire from international cricket, with the upcoming Test against India at Lord’s set to be her final appearance for England.
Sciver-Brunt also hailed England great and close friend Tammy Beaumont, after it was announced the batter would retire from international cricket at the end of this weekend’s Rothesay Test match.
Beaumont made her international debut in 2009 and has enjoyed a glittering career at the top of the game. She guided England to glory at the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup, notably being crowned the player of the tournament, and is the team’s leading ODI centurion, with 12 hundreds to her name.
“She’s seen cricket through all of the changes that we’ve had,” Sciver-Brunt said. “Seventeen years playing the game is a huge achievement in itself; she’s obviously going to finish her career as the highest hundred scorer in the ODI format.
“She’s scored a lot of runs for our team and we’ve relied on those runs a lot of times. She is someone who has got great determination and resolve in that, ‘no one’s going to get me out today, this is my day and I’m scoring runs’.
“That attitude will certainly be missed. Personally, as a friend, she will be missed in the team as well. I hope that we can send her off with a great week here at Lord’s.”
How can I watch England vs India?
Watch the first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s, between England and India, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Friday (11am first ball), with coverage continuing every day on the same channel until Monday, July 13. Stream cricket and more top sport contract-free with NOW.
