It might have taken a hundred years to get here, but when the moment came you can’t complain that Lord’s didn’t fully commit to its first ever Women’s Test.

A collage of old prints and photographs covered the walls of the Media Centre, depicting significant moments in the history of women’s cricket; while for the nearly 11,000 spectators who came to sit in the stands and the famous old pavillion, there were special commemorative t-shirts and hoodies on sale in the Lord’s shop.

Does the occasion ever matter more than the game? If ever it did, this was the occasion.

Like the display in the Media Centre, England’s selections looked towards the past, with two of the undisputed greats of the modern England era – Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight – awarded the opportunity to bask in one final encore at cricket’s own Opéra Garnier. Even the debutantes were hardly fresh-faced cherubs – Alice Capsey has pulled on an England shirt almost 100 times before; while Mady Villiers will be 28 next month.

Like the XI that took this very-same field for the T20 World Cup Final less than a week ago, you’d be hard-pressed to describe this side as “forward-looking”; but it probably was close-to the best XI available. Once they decided Nat Sciver-Brunt was fit… or at least “fit enough”… to be sent once more unto the breach, I guess the conversations were around Emma Lamb vs Maia Bouchier and Tilly Corteen-Coleman vs Issy Wong.

Lamb is probably a more natural long-form player than Bouchier, but in the all-of-two opportunities they’ve each had, Bouchier has bagged a hundred while Lamb has a highest knock of 38. Wong’s selection over TCC likely came down to roles – England presumably figured that they needed a third seamer more than they needed a third spinner, especially with Mady Villiers bowling well enough to have been trusted with a decent amount of overs today.

Having won the toss and elected to bowl, England will have been hoping for quick wickets at a ground where so many wickets fell in the last (men’s) Test played here, between England and New Zealand in June, that the pitch was reported to the ICC a substandard. A wicket fell in that game on average every 25 balls.

England had India two-down in fairly short order – Shafali caught behind, hanging her bat out like it was Monday’s laundry; and Yastika bowled by a peach from Lauren Bell. But Bell soon looked tired; and Filer out of ideas, as Smriti and Jemimah began to build what was threatening to be a formidable partnership. England might not have enjoyed it, but the crowd got to witness two of the world’s most exciting batters, playing the kind of cricket the occasion deserved and looking like they could be doing it all day.

Cricinfo reported that “Jemimah’s knock was cut short on 35 by Wong” but in truth Jemimah’s knock was cut short by Jemimah, who really should have swiped-left on a ball that ugly, chasing it way outside off stump and chopping on.

The phase that followed could turn out to be a key one in the course of this match. Another quick wicket for England would have allowed them to put real pressure on India’s lower middle order; but instead Harmanpreet and Smriti rebuilt with some patience. The run rate slowed significantly, but India were the ones with time on their side; and the pair took the visitors close to 200 before they fell in quick succession – Smriti nicking behind; and Harmanpreet falling to a delivery that, if I’m honest, I didn’t think Mady Villiers had in her – doing a 3 point turn, reversing round the corner, and then parallel parking into middle stump.

This presented England with another window of opportunity which they again didn’t quite take, as Deepti worked with the tail to record her 5th Test 50, and take India past the psychologically significant 282 mark. What’s so special about 282? It is the highest score anyone has ever made in a Women’s Test and lost the match – New Zealand in 1969.

With India 9 down, and the shadows starting to creep onto the Lord’s outfield, the last thing England’s opening batters would have wanted was to go out and face 10 overs of the new ball after a long, hot summer’s day in the field; but Sophie Ecclestone wasn’t in the mood to hang around herself in the heat, so England’s Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier were soon out in the middle with just over half an hour to negotiate.

It could have gone worse, I guess, with ball tracking showing that Heather Knight would have been toast and marmalade if India had reviewed an appeal from Kranti Gaud in the 8th over. But with Tammy Beaumont already halfway to the Post Office with her pension book in-hand, England go into day 2 at 21-1, optimistically already needing something quite special to even save this match, let alone win it.