England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday (August 22) announced that India's women's cricket team will play a one-off Test match against England at the iconic Lord's stadium in 2026. This will mark the first time India and England face off in a women's Test match at Lord's. The venue has previously hosted women's matches, they have all been in the white-ball formats (ODIs, T20Is).
In December 2023, India hosted England for a one-off women's Test match at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Sports Academy, where India handed England a decisive 347-run defeat.
This will mark the first time in the 210-year history of Lord's Cricket Ground that a women's Test match will be organized. Established in 1814, Lord's hosted its first international match between July 21 and July 23, 1884.
"It has also been confirmed that India Women will return in 2026 for a one-off Test match at Lord’s – the first-ever Women’s Test to be staged at the Home of Cricket. England Women have played white-ball matches at Lord’s for the past three years, with another scheduled next year, but it will be the first time the ground has hosted a Women’s Test match," ECB said in its release.
Before one-off Test in 2026, India women's team to tour England in 2025 for white-ball series
The Indian women's team will tour England in 2025 for a limited-overs series before their Test match in 2026. The tour will include a five-match T20 series in Nottingham, starting on June 28 and concluding on July 12. Following the T20 series, India and England will compete in a three-match ODI series from July 16 to July 22.
Apart from the women's team, the men's team too will tour England for a Test series. In 2025, the Indian men's team will tour England for a five-match Test series. The series will start with the first Test at Headingley on June 20. The second Test will be held in Birmingham from July 2, followed by the third Test at Lord's from July 10. The fourth Test is scheduled for Manchester from July 23, and the series will conclude with the fifth Test in London from July 31.