London: India head coach Amol Muzumdar is baffled that it has taken this long to stage a women's Test at Lord's, 142 years after the 'Home of Cricket' hosted a men's Test.
India and England will play a one-off Test at the iconic venue from Friday. The fact that Lord's is yet to host a women's Test has attracted attention in the lead up to the landmark game.
Speaking to reporters, Muzumdar said the players are looking forward to the occasion, so much so that they had started talking about it even before the T20 World Cup that just ended. India made another premature exit from the T20 showpiece.
"It just boggles my mind that it is just the first Test match here at Lords. Having said that, I am really fortunate and would like to extend my wishes to everyone who is involved in this. It is a great occasion and we are looking forward to it," said Muzumdar, who played as many as 171 first class games.
"It is a dream to play a Test match for any Indian cricketer, leave alone playing at Lords. I am sure everyone who would wear those whites tomorrow would be proud of them being there at Lord's to play the Test match.
"We have always maintained this in the dressing room, traditionally we have done really well in the Test matches. Everyone was talking about the game at Lord's even before the T20 World Cup started," the coach went on to say.
After a disappointing exit from the T20 World Cup, the Indian team trained at Wormsley Cricket Ground for a rare red ball game. India had played their last Test in March this year while playing none the year before.
"We can't change what has happened (in T20 World Cup). All we need to do is look forward and prepare the best we can for the event ahead. So I guess that has been the talk and I am sure all of them, all the players are looking forward for the Test match," said Mujumdar.
Mujumdar never got to play for India despite scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket. He still has a fond memory of Lord's.
"I was sharing this anecdote a couple of days ago. I came here in 1996. I watched the Test match where Sourav got his first 100 and Rahul Dravid made his debut.
"I was playing up north in Yorkshire at that time and just came to watch the Test match and I saw a superlative 100 from Sourav. I was just sitting in that stand. So yeah some great memories," he looked back.
Mujumdar feels dealing with the unique slop at Lord's won't be much of an issue for the players.
He also endorsed for more Tests in women's cricket.
"Red Ball cricket is always exciting. It brings different challenges. You have got to bowl 100 overs. It is a 4-day game. 100 overs in a day. Different challenges, different excitement, different ability comes to the shore. I guess Test cricket will always be Test cricket," he added.
