2 minute read
Good news, everyone! Some Women’s Tests are probably happening!
Women’s Test matches are so rare, the possibility another one might actually happen tends to be headline news.
The BBC have gone with “England to play first West Indies Test since 1979” which does a pretty good job of summing things up. It’ll be in 2027 and it’ll also be the first Test England have played over there.
The BBC article also reveals that England have further Test matches lined up against India, Australia and South Africa before the end of 2029. Busy times!
The women’s Test schedule is in fact so easy-paced that we’re happy to type it out in full. In fact we’ll do it nation by nation, even though that means highlighting each match twice.
Australia (eight Tests)
- January 2025: Home v England
- February 2026: Home v India
- March 2026: Away v West Indies
- March 2027: Away v South Africa
- July 2027: Away v England
- December 2027: Away v India
- February 2028: Home v South Africa
- February 2029: Home v England
England (eight Tests)
- December 2024: Away v South Africa
- January 2025: Away v Australia
- July 2026: Home v India
- April 2027: Away v West Indies
- July 2027: Home v Australia
- June 2028: Home v South Africa
- December 2028: Away v India
- Feburary 2029: Away v Australia
India (five Tests)
- February 2026: Away v Australia
- July 2026: Away v England
- December 2026: Away v South Africa
- December 2027: Home v Australia
- December 2028: Home v England
South Africa (six Tests)
- December 2024: Home v England
- December 2026: Home v India
- March 2027: Home v Australia
- February 2028: Away v Australia
- June 2028: Away v England
- December 2028: Home v West Indies
West Indies (three Tests)
- March 2026: Home v Australia
- April 2027: Home v England
- December 2028: Away v South Africa
These tests are probably happening?
We don’t know who wrote the ICC press release, but it is not characterised by precision of language. “Members have also pencilled in more Test matches this time,” it says at one point – which makes all of these matches sound highly provisional.
We imagine they are, but then elsewhere it says of the various planned multi-format series that, “Australia will play the maximum such series.”
The maximum? They mean the greatest number. So at that point we realised that pretty much any word in the release could in fact mean something different and therefore the whole document was basically meaningless.
Conclusion
Some women’s Test matches will be played and probably a handful more than during the last ‘cycle’.
