England, Australia to play first 5-day women’s Test as part of Ashes next year

New Delhi: While there are debates to transform 5-day Tests into four-day affairs, women’s cricket is going through a big change. After getting a lot of praise in the Commonwealth Games, Australia and England are going to play the first women’s 5-day Test match. The match will be played as part of the Ashes series next year.

Since 2017, only six women’s Test games have been played and all of them ended in a draw. A 5-day game will bring more possibility to definite outcome. The decision is taken by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia to break the longstanding convention. A few months earlier International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay said he wanted women to play 5-day tests, while at the same time he raised doubts about the long-term future of the format in women’s cricket.

The match will be at Trent Bridge from June 22-26. The multi-format Ashes series in 2023 will also have three T20Is and three ODIs. As compared to women’s Ashes, the men’s Ashes have five Test games.

Talking about this step England captain Heather Knight said that she is happy and it is a special moment. “It feels like the right time, for five days, for bigger grounds, and it feels like it’s been a long time coming,” she added. Talking about the inequality between men’s and women’s cricket, Knight said that when she started her career anything felt like a bonus and talked about playing the sport even without getting money. “…but my eyes have opened a bit more. You see the inequalities you’ve gone through and and not really realized. Moving forward on an equal footing is a logical progression,” she added.