Off-spin bowling all-rounder Sneh Rana has made a strong case for expanding women's Test cricket into multi-match series on the lines of the men's Ashes, following India's historic 270-run victory over England at Lord's on 15 July 2025. Speaking in an exclusive interview, Rana argued that the longer format deserves a more prominent place on the international calendar, which currently remains heavily weighted toward T20Is and ODIs owing to commercial pressures.

Rana's Call for More Women's Tests

Rana was unambiguous in her appeal. 'Like the men's Ashes series, there are five Test matches — so I feel, in the future, it should be done for women's cricket too, as soon as possible,' she said. She added that playing a series, rather than isolated one-off Tests, would give women cricketers the sustained red-ball exposure needed to grow the format globally.

The Lord's Test itself offered a compelling argument for her case. A record 37,846 fans attended the match — a new world record for women's Test attendance — signalling that public appetite for the longer format is far from absent.

Adjusting to Duke's Ball and Lord's Conditions

Rana described the technical adjustments she had to make ahead of the historic match. Playing with the Duke's ball for the first time, she noted it felt heavier and that its pronounced seam required a firmer grip. Through two to three practice sessions at Lord's, she studied how the pitch behaved and identified that the surface could offer turn — a factor she identified as a 'plus point' for her bowling.

Her approach in the match was disciplined and patient. 'I don't do a lot of experiments, and I focus on my line and length only,' she said. 'The more patiently you bowl in a Test match, the more success you will get.' That philosophy paid off with six wickets in the match, including four in the second innings, among them the prized scalps of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone.

Historic Moment at Lord's — On and Off the Field

The victory carried cultural weight beyond the scoreboard. Rana reflected on the significance of women walking through the Long Room at Lord's — a space from which female spectators were barred until 1999. 'Today, every woman athlete comes from there to the field, and everyone claps for them. So, I think there is nothing bigger than this,' she said.

Post-match celebrations saw the squad greeted by Sachin Tendulkar, Jay Shah, and Devajit Saikia, before the players moved toward the stands to acknowledge the fans who had turned out in record numbers. 'Fans have a different space in an athlete's life because we are nothing without them,' Rana noted.

BCCI's Domestic Red-Ball Push and the Path Forward

Rana credited the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s decision to reintroduce three-day and four-day red-ball cricket into the women's domestic circuit as a key building block for performances at this level. 'The experience you get from playing days cricket will be used at the highest level, because it is a very long format and requires a lot of endurance and patience,' she said.

Her own statistics underline the point. With four four-wicket hauls in just 10 Test innings, Rana now stands alongside Neetu David in Indian women's Test history, trailing only Shubhangi Kulkarni and Jhulan Goswami. She attributed her red-ball success to the patience the format demands — a quality she believes is best cultivated through sustained domestic exposure. As the debate over women's Test cricket's future gains momentum, the Lord's record crowd and a 270-run win have given advocates like Rana a powerful new data point to press their case.