England Women in line for first Lord’s fixture since World Cup victory

England could host a women’s international at Lord’s for the first time since the 2017 World Cup final this summer.

England’s fixture schedule for the 2022 home season is yet to be confirmed, but ESPNcricinfo understands the MCC has made a bid to host matches at Lord’s as part of wider efforts to host more women’s cricket at the ground.

MCC this week announced its 2022-23 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) plan, including a commitment to “enable more players, members and staff from diverse backgrounds to participate in MCC” and a commitment to “catalyze increased attendance and participation of women and girls” through a marketing campaign if its bid for international competitions is successful.

“MCC is committed to growing and supporting the women’s game, which plays a central role in our cricket strategy,” a spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “We are working closely with the ECB to bring international women’s cricket back to Lord’s every year and provide more opportunities for female players to play in the home of cricket.”

Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket, began her term as MCC chairman last October and announced her intention to attract more women’s cricket to the stadium.

England have played only one home match at a men’s Test stadium since the 2017 World Cup – the 2018 ODI at Headingley. There has been much debate within the women’s game about the merits of hosting England matches in stadiums of different sizes, but after record attendance numbers in the Hundred’s first season, there appears to be growing confidence that ticket sales will be strong enough to support some matches moving to larger stadiums.

England are already guaranteed to play at least three and up to five games at major stadiums next summer, with the Commonwealth Games scheduled to take place at Edgbaston from July 29 to August 7. South Africa are scheduled to tour before the tournament, with another bilateral series likely to follow the Hundred in September.