It hasn’t even been a week since the English women made history at Lord’s and yet they are already preparing for the second round.

Something about London buses and all that.

More than 28,000 packed the ground on Sunday for the Women’s T20 World Cup final, which Nat Sciver-Brunt’s England lost to Australia, and are now preparing to lead the team in the first women’s Test match at the Home of Cricket.

Such is the gender disparity that Lord’s held its 150th men’s event earlier this summer. Heather Knight, an international cricketer since 2010, will play her 15th match overall.

The timing, coming on the heels of such an important and record-breaking World Cup, and the fact that the match is not part of a multi-format series like most women’s events are, leaves it fighting for relevance.

Despite all those warnings, this is progress. The Test was included in England’s calendar in 2024, a year after the Independent Cricket Fairness Commission (ICEC) described it as “appalling” that English women had never played a Test there.

“I played my first Test match in a skirt and paid for my own jacket,” head coach and legendary former captain Charlotte Edwards told BBC Woman’s Hour.

“I’m absolutely blown away. “Sometimes I sit in the dugout or on the balcony and I’m really proud of where the game is going on because 30 years ago probably 10 people were watching England play and now we’re playing in front of full houses and at Lord’s.

“When I first played at Lord’s, women were not allowed. I am immensely proud, as much as the players enjoy it, I love being part of this England team and we are very, very lucky to have these opportunities.”