England Women finished Day 1 of the Bristol Test match against India Women on 269/6. At one point they were 230/2, but Sneh Rana (3-77) and Deepti Sharma (2-58) struck four times, and England lost four for 21 in under nine overs. Heather Knight dominated the day with her 95, adding 71 with Tammy Beaumont (66) and 90 with Nat Sciver (42). This, after Lauren Winfield-Hill (35) hit the only two sixes of the day.
However, Knight should not be overly bothered about the score. There are prediction of rain on both Days 2 and 4 of the four-day Test match, so a long first innings would not have helped England in any way. India do bat deep – there is no obvious rank tail-ender – but they will also have to bat last. This is a used pitch, and both Deepti and Rana have been able to find turn.
There was little the seamers could do on this pitch. Jhulan Goswami, 38, sent down 18 backbreaking overs without success. Her support cast, Shikha Pandey and Pooja Vastrakar, did not leave an impact. Spinners bowled 51 out of 92 overs – and this was just Day 1, and that trend is likely to continue.
Despite England’s four-pronged pace attack, including Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, Sophie Ecclestone may emerge as the main threat for the Indians. Expect Ecclestone to wheel away for all of Day 2 after the England innings ends.
However, all that will depend on the rain. If it rains, India will dig in deep – with the exception of Shafali Verma, of course – and not try to bat for a second time at all. Given their depth and experience – Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur have all played Test cricket – it will not be unexpected.