Women's Test Cricket: History, Format, and the Push for More Matches
Women's Test cricket has existed since 1934 but has historically been played far less frequently than the men's format. This article covers the history of Women's Tests, their current scheduling challenges, how the ICC Women's Championship has changed the landscape, and why advocates push for more four-day cricket in women's cricket.
A Brief History of Women's Test Cricket
Women's Test cricket began in 1934 with a three-match series between England and Australia — the precursor to what is now called the Women's Ashes. For decades, Women's Tests were played as 5-day matches (matching the men's format at the time) but were limited to a handful of series per decade. The structural problems: women's cricket lacked the administrative and financial support to organise frequent international tours; the concept of professional women's cricket was non-existent until the late 2010s; and most women who represented their countries had professional careers outside cricket. The result: Women's Tests were rare, prestigious occasions rather than a regular part of the international calendar. Between 2000 and 2015, some nations went years without playing a Women's Test match.
The Current Format: Four-Day Tests
Women's Test matches are now scheduled as four-day matches (rather than five-day like the men's format). The rationale: four days is deemed sufficient to produce a result in most Women's Tests given the current run-scoring rates and bowling attack depths; four days is administratively more manageable for boards planning women's tours; and the women's game, while growing in standard rapidly, is at a slightly different technical maturity that means four days typically achieves what five days achieves in men's Tests. Each four-day Women's Test match provides 90 overs per day, giving batsmen and bowlers the full range of match situations — first innings advantage, second innings chasing, final-day declarations and run chases — that make Test cricket the game's most complete format.
The ICC Women's Championship and Scheduling Changes
The ICC Women's Championship (launched in 2014) initially focused on ODI cricket — providing a structured qualification pathway to the Women's ODI World Cup through bilateral series points. Its success demonstrated that structured women's international scheduling was viable. This led to broader conversations about scheduling more Women's Tests as part of the bilateral series framework. From 2021-2022 onward, several nations began scheduling Women's Tests as the prestige match within bilateral multi-format series — a single Test match alongside T20Is and ODIs. The Women's Ashes now includes a Women's Test as a central component alongside white-ball matches. The ICC has been working on a Women's Test Championship framework to give Women's Tests the same structured context the World Test Championship provides for men's cricket.
Frequently asked questions
How many Women's Test matches are played per year globally?
Women's Test cricket has historically involved very few matches per year — often fewer than 6-8 Tests globally across all nations in a calendar year. The figure has increased since 2022 as more nations scheduled Tests within multi-format bilateral series. In 2023-2024, approximately 8-12 Women's Test matches were played globally per year, compared to 50-60+ Men's Tests. The major disparities: only England, Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan play Women's Tests regularly; other Full Member nations (like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan) rarely or never play Women's Tests. Expanding the Women's Test programme to more nations is a stated ICC priority for 2024-2027.
Can Women's Tests end in draws?
Yes — like Men's Tests, Women's Tests end in draws if neither team achieves a result within the four days. Given the four-day duration (rather than five), Women's Tests may have a slightly lower draw rate than men's five-day Tests — there is less time for rain, defensive play, or low-scoring attritional sessions to prevent a result. However, Women's Tests between closely matched sides with good batting conditions can still end in draws. A drawn Women's Test is not considered a failure — the same appreciation for the drawn result that exists in men's cricket (as evidence of a hard-fought contest) applies in women's cricket. Women's Test draws are typically recorded in the series scoreline like men's Test draws.
What are the arguments against more Women's Tests?
Arguments sometimes made against expanding Women's Tests: the financial cost of scheduling a four-day Women's Test (venue hire, travel, accommodation for two squads for four days) is significant for boards that already run women's cricket on small budgets; attendances for Women's Test cricket have historically been modest (though England vs Australia Tests draw larger crowds); the women's T20 format generates more broadcast revenue, meaning limited resources may be better invested in the highest-revenue format; and some boards argue their domestic women's players need more domestic red-ball cricket infrastructure before international Tests become viable. Advocates respond that these arguments were used historically to limit men's cricket development in emerging nations and that investment in Women's Tests is what builds the infrastructure, audiences, and players needed for the format to thrive.