MCC is celebrating a record-breaking summer for women’s cricket at Lord’s having welcomed over 108,000 fans to its international women’s matches at the Home of Cricket.
The fixtures included three ICC T20 Women's World Cup group stage matches and the Final, and the first Women’s Test match at Lord’s between England and India.
In the World Cup group stage, the match between Australia and India attracted 27,163 spectators, a world record attendance for an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup group match, while the World Cup Final had 28,887 supporters in attendance – the highest crowd for a women’s match in the UK.
In the red ball game, as well as setting a new world record for a single day attendance at a Women’s Test match when 15,243 came to a captivating Day Two, the world record for cumulative attendance was also broken as a total of 37,846 watched across the four days. These surpassed records previously held by the MCG. Across the 108,000 tickets sold, 27% of purchasers were new to cricket and nearly 40% of tickets were purchased for females and juniors.
The Rothesay Women’s Test match between England and India took place exactly 50 years after the first women’s international was played at Lord’s in 1976, when Rachael Heyhoe Flint led England onto the outfield.
To recognise the historic nature of the match, and to celebrate the milestone anniversary, over 50 former players from the English game were invited to Lord’s for Day One of the Test in recognition of the contributions made by these trailblazers over five decades. The former players included eight that were in the side that first walked onto the Main Ground in 1976: Enid Bakewell, Lynne Thomas, Chris Watmough, Janet Southgate, Jackie Court, Megan Lear, Glynis Culley and Shirley Hodges. The other players joined them in taking to the field to ring the five-minute bell to start play.
Earlier that morning, MCC unveiled a significant expansion of its portrait collection, tripling the number of women featured, through new and retrospective portraits celebrating some of the game's greatest players and pioneers. The new portraits of prominent female cricketers are hanging in the Long Room. Retrospective paintings of photographs in the Women’s Cricket Association archive were painted by Ange Bell of Enid Bakewell, Mary Duggan, Jan Brittin and Myrtle Maclagan, while Kristian Evju painted a group portrait of the 1993 World Cup-winning team.
Marking the contribution of Australian cricketers, Andrew Greensmith has painted a portrait of former Australian captain Belinda Clark that is also now hanging in the famous Long Room.
As part of this event, MCC also announced that it will commission a new sculpture within the Ground depicting a female cricketer, a first for a UK cricket ground, and completing the trilogy in one of its most famous sculptural displays. The Home of Cricket already has the famous bronze statues of an anonymous bowler and batter that stand at either end of the Barclays Media Centre. The new permanent installation will evoke a female fielder, representing the growth and importance of the women’s and girls’ game and inspiring future generations of girls to play cricket. It will complement existing women’s cricket pieces at the Home of Cricket including the Heyhoe Flint Gate and bas relief, and the women’s Ashes plaque.
Also, during the Test, MCC, Sky Sports and Take Her Lead announced Rosa Simkin as the winner of the 2026 Young Female Broadcaster competition, an initiative designed to open doors for young women pursuing careers in cricket broadcasting. Rosa was thrust into the spotlight, broadcasting live in pitch-side interview with her girlhood inspiration, Ebony Rainford-Brent, alongside presenter Nick Knight.
MCC invited the women’s and girls’ cricket community to help write the next chapter of the game by submitting photographs that capture what it means to them. Over 40 photos formed a new exhibition under the Warner Stand that brings to life the joy of the grassroots game, through the lens of the people at the heart of it. Saturday morning fixtures sit alongside winning celebrations, overseas tours and lifelong friendships, as the display offers a rare look at scenes that seldom make it beyond the clubhouse, now on display at the Home of Cricket.
Visitors to the Nursery Ground had the opportunity to commemorate the occasion with a personalised bottle of Veuve Clicquot, engraved with bespoke messages marking the first Women's Test at Lord's. The group of former England players who rang the five-minute bell were gifted a personalised engraved bottle to recognise their contribution to the modern game and the players that made the Lord’s Honours Board were also celebrated with an engraved bottle to take away.
The Lord’s social channels (@homeofcricket) were keeping everyone who couldn’t make it to the match entertained with a vast range of video content including Lord’s own ‘Overheard’ content that featured Lauren Bell’s parents, ‘Looks of Lord’s’ fashion and lifestyle photos, and an emotional international retirement video with Heather Knight. Social video views peaked at 87,600,000 with engagements reaching 2,896,000.
In the women’s game, Lord’s now looks ahead to The Hundred tournament and hosting for the first time London Spirit’s matches as their owned home team. With refreshed team branding, London Spirit is setting new standards for the women’s game with the creation of a dedicated Women’s General Manager role, filled by former England and London Spirit captain, Heather Knight. The tournament has brought its own record-breaking crowds, setting a domestic women’s attendance record when 22,542 watched the most recent women’s final at Lord’s in 2025.
MCC has had women’s and girls’ cricket at the heart of its strategy for many years and is continuing the momentum. The first Women’s Test match was the headline act in a record-breaking season at Lord’s, with 21 women’s fixtures scheduled. From international cricket to domestic competitions and pathway finals, thousands of supporters will have the chance to watch women’s cricket at Lord’s.
Robert Lawson, Chief Executive and Secretary of MCC said: “This record-breaking three weeks marks a historic watershed moment for women's cricket at the Home of Cricket. Welcoming over 108,000 fans to Lord’s, and setting multiple global attendance records across both the T20 World Cup and our historic first Women's Test, demonstrates the undeniable appetite for the women's game. As we celebrate 50 years since trailblazers first walked onto our Main Ground, we are not just looking back; we are looking to the future and will continue to play our part in championing the incredible momentum we’re seeing in the women’s game.”
