Famous ground celebrates 212-year first in historic Test match<\/a><\/p>\nIndia bowler Kranti Gaud celebrates her 5th wicket of the innings, that of England batter Lauren Bell, caught by Shafali Verma (2nd left) during day two of the 1st Women’s Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Lord’s Cricket Ground.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the five wickets were special,\u201d said Gaud. \u201cBut that one (Sciver-Brunt) mattered most to me as we really needed a wicket at that stage.\u201d Gaud completed her five-wicket haul in dramatic fashion when Lauren Bell\u2019s edged drive flew to the slip cordon, where it was parried in front of her throat by Rana before a diving Verma grabbed the rebound.<\/p>\n
Mandhana, who on Friday became the youngest women to feature in 300 international games across all formats at the age of 29 years and 357 days, was again in excellent touch.<\/p>\n
She punished Bell for pitching short with languid pull shots and the runs kept coming as Verma, out for nought in the first innings, struck the seamer down the ground.<\/p>\n
Mandhana also lofted Ecclestone — who on Friday became England\u2019s leading wicket-taker in all international formats — for a magnificent straight six.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s an amazing player,\u201d said Ecclestone of Mandhana. \u201cWe\u2019ve had so many battles over the years, she knows how I am as a bowler and I know how she plays – and she\u2019s coming out on top at the minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
India to play host for Big Bash opener | 14:34<\/p>\n
FORMER SKIPPER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT<\/p>\n
Heather Knight, England\u2019s 2017 World Cup-winning captain and the most capped women\u2019s player in England history, announced Saturday she will retire from international cricket following the end of the ongoing Test match against India at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Knight, who made her England debut in 2010 and has featured in 320 matches across all formats, joins teammate Tammy Beaumont in bowing out of international cricket at the conclusion of the historic first women\u2019s Test at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Knight has made nearly 8,000 international runs across all formats, with six centuries.<\/p>\n
At Canberra in 2020, her hundred during the T20 World Cup made her the first English women\u2019s player to score hundreds in all three forms of the game.<\/p>\n
Arguably her best day in England colours came when she led the side to victory over India in the 2017 50-over World Cup final at Lord\u2019s, having succeeded Charlotte Edwards — now England\u2019s head coach — as skipper the previous year.<\/p>\n
She went on to lead the team on 199 occasions from 2016 to 2025, overseeing 134 victories before standing down following a humiliating 16-0 loss in Australia during the multi-format Ashes of 2024\/25.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m extremely grateful and privileged to have gone on the journey that I have been on as an England cricketer,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to walk away because the dressing-room and the people in the dressing-room have been a constant in my life for 16 years, and the memories and the experiences and the people have helped shape me become who I am today, but I\u2019m really content with this decision and I\u2019m really excited for what\u2019s next.\u201d Knight, plagued by injuries in recent years, is set to move into administration, having taken up a role as general manager at London Spirit, with the new season of the Hundred starting at the end of the month.<\/p>\n
She made six in the first innings of the ongoing Test, with England on course for a heavy defeat after India ended Saturday\u2019s second day of four on 154-1 in their second innings — a huge overall lead of 269 runs.<\/p>\n
Heather Knight of England bats during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup England & Wales 2026 Semi Final match between England and South Africa at The OvalSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
– \u2018Privilege of my life\u2019 –<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old Knight showed her enduring value to England with a key innings of 58, during a stand of 133 with current skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt that changed the course of last week\u2019s T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa after the hosts had slumped to 23-3.<\/p>\n
England were well-beaten by Australia in the ensuing Lord\u2019s final. \u201cAs a team, we\u2019ve shared some special moments with the fans over the years and I want to thank everyone who has supported and given their love to the women\u2019s game,\u201d said Knight. \u201cWatching this great game grow has been the greatest privilege of my life.\u201d Clare Connor, managing director England Women, said: \u201cHeather\u2019s contribution to England women\u2019s cricket has been extraordinary.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has combined skill and determination as a player with exceptional leadership qualities, helping to shape this team and the game more broadly through one of the most significant periods in its history.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kranti Gaud took five wickets before Smriti Mandhana once more piled on the runs against England as India…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-794452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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