Sophie Ecclestone had just broken a record that had stood for years, but what she remembered most was walking through the Long Room at Lord's and seeing the pioneers who came before her. "Walking out of the Long Room with the ex-players there — yeah, once in a lifetime day," she said. It was a moment that summed up a historic day at the Home of Cricket: one player reaching a remarkable milestone, and the women who made it possible finally getting their due.
On the first day of the first women's Test ever played at Lord's, Ecclestone took the wicket of India's Sayali Satghare in the 73rd over to reach 336 career wickets across all three international formats — Test, One Day International, and T20. That single delivery broke Katherine Sciver-Brunt's record of 335 wickets and made Ecclestone England's greatest wicket-taker of all time, male or female. Her figures of 3-68 also moved her to third on the all-time list worldwide, behind only India's Deepti Sharma, who was playing in the same match, and India's Jhulan Goswami.
But Ecclestone, just 27 years old and already in her tenth year of international cricket since her 2016 debut, made it clear this achievement belonged to more than just her. "It's pretty special, it's been a big 10 years," she told BBC Test Match Special. "I would've never dreamt of anything like this. I've got no words, just buzzing it happened."
Before play even began, the England and Wales Cricket Board honored the women who paved the way during the amateur era, when female cricketers were not even allowed to be members of the MCC — the prestigious club based at Lord's. Former stars like Enid Bakewell, named in 2014 as one of Wisden's all-time greatest women cricketers, and World Cup winning bowler Anya Shrubsole rang the bell on the outfield to signal the start of the match. World Cup winner Alex Hartley, included in the celebrations, called it "really wholesome." "It was so lovely to see all the past players," she said. "It's great for the ECB to recognise those players who paved the way."
Issy Wong, who did not play during England's recent World Cup triumph but got her chance in this Test, understood what the day meant. She didn't even have her Test cap in her kit bag — her dad had to deliver it to her at the ground. Yet she fought through a rusty opening spell to remove India's dangerous batters Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana when they threatened to take control of the match. "It's because of them that we are in the position to have such special days like this," Wong said.
Women's Tests are rare — so infrequent that Wong had only four red cricket balls in her coaching bag — but the joy these players felt for the longest format was unmistakable. As Ecclestone basked in her record and the legends who came before her watched from the stands, it felt like a promise kept to the pioneers who fought for exactly this moment.