Sophie Ecclestone becomes England’s leading wicket-taker during historic Test vs India

Sophie Ecclestone has today become England Women’s all-time leading wicket-taker across formats during the historic Lord’s Test against India on Friday, July 10. 

The spinner was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings, taking 3 for 68 to dismiss the visitors for 285 on Day 1, which is the first Women’s Test played at the iconic venue in London. In doing so, the 27-year-old overtook former fast bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt to lead the wicket-taking charts for her nation.

Having made her international debut in July 2016, Ecclestone needed just one wicket to surpass the legendary bowler, who was recently honoured with an OBE for her services to cricket. She did so by getting the wicket of Sayali Satghare towards the end of the innings. She would then take a further two wickets to end the Indian innings. 

Ecclestone’s tally currently stands at 43 wickets in Tests, 141 in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 154 in T20Is. At the time of writing, she is England’s leading wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game. However, she is still 29 wickets behind Sciver-Brunt in ODI wickets, sitting second. 

Ecclestone has been one of England’s best bowlers for several years now. The left-arm spinner took 10 wickets at an economy rate of 6.00 during the recently concluded 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, where the Lionesses finished as runners-up, losing to Australia in the final at Lord’s. 

Despite the decreasing number of Women’s Test matches in recent times, Ecclestone has still managed to get herself into a special group of players. At the time of writing, the England spinner is the second-youngest women’s bowler to register a 10-wicket haul in a Test. She took 10 for 192 against Australia at Trent Bridge in Nottingham in 2023 at the tender age of 24 years and 47 days.