Lauren Filer set for flying start as England’s new pace bowling find looks to make an impact

England’s new pace bowling find, Lauren Filer, believes the days of breaking the 80mph barrier in women’s cricket are not far away.

South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail became the first woman to record a delivery of exactly that speed earlier this year but no one has yet gone beyond it.

English cricket has no one faster than the uncapped Filer, according to England coach Jon Lewis, who believes the 22-year-old from Western Storm can offer a point of difference for the Ashes, which start with a Test match at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

‘With the progression of the professional game in this country — training at better venues with quality coaches — there could be someone to hit 80mph,’ he told Mail Sport. ‘More players are now consistently hitting the mid-70s.’

Indeed, although Filer has rarely been subjected to the speed gun in her fledgling career, she was clocked at 75 in a game against Northern Diamonds at Headingley earlier this season, and is edging out new international colleagues Issy Wong and Lauren Bell in the speed stakes after Matt Mason and Jack Brooks, bowling coaches with England and Storm respectively, oversaw the remodelling of her action last winter.

Lauren Filer is eager to make a major impact when the women’s Ashes get underway 

England coach Jon Lewis believes Filer can offer a point of difference at the tournament

‘I have increased pace over the past few months and the fact that people are noticing is a really good thing for me,’ Filer said.

‘The pace is probably a big contributing factor in my selection, but I am also quite tall so I feel like I get a bit more natural bounce than some other people do, and I try to take wickets — so I offer that attacking option and that’s what they want to bring into the team.’

The 5ft 11in Filer has big boots to fill following the retirement of Katherine Sciver-Brunt, but is keen to make the most of her chance in the multi-format series.

‘I wasn’t expecting a call-up. As a kid that’s the phone call you always want but once it happens, it’s hard to put into words,’ said Filer, who began playing for Weston-super-Mare alongside her twin sister Jodie at the age of 10.

Australia are defending the Ashes having not lost a single game in the 2021-22 series, but they are without captain Meg Lanning for medical reasons and the tourists’ attack were pummelled for 562 at a rate of close to five runs per over by England A in this week’s warm-up match in Leicester.

Filer feels the pace of her bowling is key and she gets more natural bounce than some others

England, meanwhile, raced along at an even quicker clip, piling up a mammoth 650 in 118.2 overs against Australia A.

Those scorecards suggest the balance of power is shifting but Filer warned: ‘Australia are a really strong side, one of the best sporting teams in the world and we have a lot of respect for them.

‘But we don’t want to get too caught up in what they do, we want to think about our game.’

One of the issues for both teams ahead of a five-day Test is physically preparing the bowlers for long-form cricket when players are fed on a short form domestic diet. It might lead to short, sharp spells for England’s pace unit, with the outstanding slow left-armer Sophie Ecclestone operating for longer ones at the other end.