Athens News - India captain Kaur hopes Lord's Test can offset World Cup woes

India's six-wicket defeat by eventual champions Australia on June 28 ended the 50-over World Cup title-holders' dreams of holding both major limited-overs trophies at the same time.

But it did leave them with 11 days to prepare before facing England in a four-day Test starting on Friday.

After 150 men's Tests at Lord's dating back to 1884, this match marks another landmark for a rapidly evolving women's game, where leading nations such as England and India are now fully professional.

"This Test match is a very big deal for us," India captain Kaur told reporters at Lord's on Thursday.

"It will be very good for the team if we win it. Everyone at home is sad that we could not give our best at the T20 World Cup.

"We did well in some games but not overall. But at this Test match, we can make up for that. We can bring that confidence back."

India have won three out of 15 Tests against England, and their opponents just one, with the other 11 drawn over a span of 40 years."

- 'Not too late' -

That demonstrates just how rare multi-day games are in women's cricket, with Kaur -- who will be playing just her eighth Test this week -- glad to be involved in a landmark fixture at the age of 37.

"Maybe it's late but not too late," said Kaur. "Still I'm playing and still getting this opportunity to be part of this historic day so I'm really looking forward to this."

The dynamic batter added: "As a kid we always dream about playing Test matches, and playing at Lord's is one of the dreams."

The Test takes place 50 years after the first women's international at Lord’s, when females were not allowed to be members of Marylebone Cricket Club, the owners of the celebrated London venue and were also denied access to the Long Room of the ground's iconic pavilion.

But England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, confessed to mixed emotions as she and her team return to Lord's just five days after their crushing seven-wicket defeat by Australia in the World Cup final.

"It's something we, as cricketers, have probably hoped for," said Sciver-Brunt.

"I think we are pretty deserving of being here and we'll relish the opportunity.

"I'm sure the disappointment won't have left lots of people about what happened at the final, but we are looking forward to such a special week at Lord's, doing something we dreamt of as kids growing up. It's a great time to be a women's cricketer."

England will also have the added incentive of trying to send Tammy Beaumont out with a win as she brings down the curtain on an international career that started in 2009.

"She's seen women's cricket through all of the changes we've had. Seventeen years playing the game for England is a huge achievement," said Sciver-Brunt.

"She's scored a lot of runs for our team and we've relied on those runs a lot of times... I hope we can send her off with a great week here at Lord's."

H.Kalantzis--AN-GR