cricket. Nations In all, ten national women's teams have competed in Test cricket. The England team's tour of Australia and New Zealand in the 1934–35 season established the first three sides, and it is those three teams that have competed in Test cricket most frequently; each having played at least 45 matches. South Africa were the next side to play the format, contesting their first match in 1960. However, due in part to their exclusion from international sport due to the nation's apartheid policy, they have only played in thirteen Test matches, fewer than India. Four sides — Pakistan, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sri Lanka — have competed in fewer than five Test matches. Recent developments As of April 2019, there had only been one Women's Test match in the previous three years, and only two teams other than England and Australia had played in a Women's Test in the previous ten years. Australia's captain, Meg Lanning, expressed her interest in more Women's Test matches being played. In July 2019, following the conclusion of the one-off Women's Ashes Test in England, the question was raised about whether Women's Test matches should be played across five days, instead of four. The match had two sessions washed out and finished in a draw. In December 2019, New Zealand's Sophie Devine requested that administrators arrange a Women's Test match between New Zealand and Australia, following a strong performance in the Women's Big Bash League. New Zealand's women last played in a Test match in 2004, and their last encounter against Australia in the format was in 1996. In June 2020, during an ICC webinar, Devine and India's Jemimah Rodrigues both supported the idea of a multi-format series for women's cricket. In April 2021, the ICC awarded permanent Test and One Day International (ODI) status to all full member women's teams. On International Women's Day 2021, it was announced that India and England would play a one-off Test later in the year. The Test was played at Bristol County Ground, between 16 and 19 June 2021. Additionally, the Board of Control for Cricket in India was said to be in talks with Cricket Australia about a possible Test match between India and Australia. Between 2000 and June 2021, only thirty women's Test matches were played, with fourteen of those being Ashes Tests between Australia and England. On 20 May 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed that