With Kate Cross fit again, it remains to be seen the exact make-up of England’s attack for the ODIs, which start the Ashes

Andrew McGlashan08-Jan-2025When you remove Ellyse Perry twice on your debut, it leaves a bit of an impression. Now England hope that the pace of Lauren Filer can provide them a cutting edge as they look to wrestle back the Ashes for the first time since 2014.Having been a surprise selection for the 2023 Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, Filer came within an inside edge of claiming Perry with her first delivery in international cricket. Beth Mooney instead became her maiden scalp and she was later able to stop Perry one short of a century. Then in the second innings she sparked an Australia collapse when she induced Perry to chop onto her stumps and soon castled Tahlia McGrath.Australia would go on to win the Test through Ashleigh Gardner’s outstanding 8 for 66, but Filer shapes as something of a wildcard in this upcoming series where she could feature across all three formats having since made her debuts in ODIs, where she averages 17.65 from 12 matches, and T20Is.Related

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Although an overall Test average of 44.28 from three outings does not leap off the page, in the recent Test against South Africa she claimed three top-order wickets and her pace did not go unnoticed.”We saw in South Africa she was pretty scary,” England opener Tammy Beaumont said. “I was at short leg in the Test match and even I was thinking I need to take a step back here and I’m not someone who ever takes a step back, so think it’s great to see how she can go over here and really unleash her.”Against South Africa, Filer opened the bowling alongside Lauren Bell who claimed eight wickets in the match. With Kate Cross fit again after injury curtailed her tour, it remains to be seen the exact make-up of England’s attack for the ODIs, which start the Ashes, but it shapes as a potent pace group. There could be some potentially tough selection calls around how to balance the attack alongside spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean.”Think our attack is looking really good,” Beaumont said. “The skill of Kate Cross and Nat Sciver-Brunt, the height of [Bell and Filer], and Lauren Filer in particular is really ready to fire out here [where you] have a bit more pace and bounce in the pitches. And Lauren Bell is just developing even more the last few years, so really excited to see how our seamers go.”Lauren Bell has some form on her side•Getty ImagesFiler, Bell, or both?Speaking last month, former England batter Lydia Greenway said that if it came down to a choice between Bell or Filer, the latter should be at the head of the queue.”The Bell or Filer question could come down to the conditions. If it’s a green seamer then they might have to drop a spinner so they can play them both and Cross,” she told the podcast.”You could see in the first ODI [against South Africa] when they played both Bell and Filer, they did look vulnerable. If one of them has a bad day, I don’t think you can rely too much on the other one, certainly not as much as you can with Kate Cross so they always have to play her.”For me now, as long as she’s fit, they have to go with Filer because she can be the big point of difference, especially in somewhere like Australia.”Bell’s eight wickets in Bloemfontein were a continuation of her emergence from remodelling her action which took place earlier last year. She has previously detailed how it was a challenging process, but feels she is now a much more rounded bowler.”It’s definitely a nice series to come off the back of into an Ashes,” Bell said. “I’ve had a tricky last 12 months so it gives you a bit of confidence and feel in a really good place. South Africa has given me a lot of confidence that it’s going in the right direction. Adding more strings to your bow is what I’ve been doing. I’ve had a big inswinger but that was kind of all I had, so having different options against different players and learning to use them will make me a better bowler.”Bell believes she complements Filer and hopes pitches will be conducive to her pushing up the speed gun.”Filer is raw pace,” Bell said. “She’s fast and that’s how she challenges people and loves bowling with her. Think we bring slightly different things to the table. I get a bit of movement and she’s quick. It’s exciting and hopefully we’ll play together in this series and we’ve got Crossy. Hopefully, we play on some quick pitches for her.”The tight schedule for the series – it will be completed within the space of 22 days – could require some careful management of pacers on both sides. Cross, though, will be able to switch to pink-ball Test preparation after the ODIs as she is not part of the T20 squad.There is a chance that England’s one warm-up match, against a Governor General’s XI on Thursday, could be disrupted by rain with an uncertain forecast for Sydney.