London, July 9 (IANS) Asserting that the disappointment of their T20 World Cup final defeat is behind them, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt on Thursday said the squad is looking forward to a ‘special week’ as they gear up for the historic first-ever women’s Test match against India at Lord’s starting on Friday.

The match marks the first time the England women’s team will play a Test match at the iconic venue, and its importance is highlighted by a UK-record ticket sale of over 30,000 for a women’s red-ball game.

“There’s some disappointment about the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final. The beauty of being here now is that it’s a change of format and the polar opposite of T20 cricket. We’ve got some fresh faces in our squad who are bringing some great energy as well.

“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,” she said in the pre-match press conference.

With potential Test debuts on the horizon for Alice Capsey, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, and Mady Villiers, Nat warned her team about the challenges of navigating a gruelling four-day game against a formidable Indian line-up.

“The basics of the game don’t change, whatever format you’re playing in. It might just be the mental battles you have with yourself throughout the game. There’s a lot of resilience that needs to be shown during a Test match, and riding the waves of energy that you’ll have, but some proper determination will go into every day that we’ll be playing.

Acknowledging the distinct defensive batting strengths that the visiting Indian batters possess, Nat noted that breaking down India’s resistance will be a game of patience. “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 Indian 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.

The match will also serve as an emotional farewell for veteran opening batter Tammy Beaumont, who will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of this Test match. Nat paid an extensive tribute to her longtime teammate, who ended her 17-year international career as England’s highest century-maker in the 50-over format.

“She’s seen cricket through all of the changes that we’ve had. 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,” she concluded.

–IANS

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