Mrs Cathy Rawson, 55, is to score the final of the one-day triangular tournament involving England, South Africa and Zimbabwe at Lord's, the home of cricket, on July 12, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"It is a wonderful privilege," Mrs Rawson was quoted as saying. "It all had to go before the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) board first but I am absolutely delighted."

Rawson, a nurse, taught herself scoring 33 years ago when she became bored watching her husband play local cricket, the Times reported.

"It is a bit like double-entry accounting," she said. "You have to make sure everything balances and truly reflects what is going on in the field."

Statisticians can find only two previous occasions when women have kept score during first-class games at Lord's, according to The Times.

The MCC, the prestigious cricket club still responsible for the laws of the game, broke with 212 years of tradition in 1999 when it announced its first women members.