Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Filer off to a flier with England after checking out of supermarket check-out

Written by 
Published in Cricket
Saturday, 30 March 2024 03:08
From working in a Tesco supermarket to representing her country, Lauren Filer had seen more than many before making her England debut in last year's Women's Ashes.

Now part of a tour to New Zealand in which her side will embark on a three-match ODI series off the back of a dominant 4-1 victory in the T20I leg, Filer is still eager to learn everything she can.

"It was probably about a year and a half, maybe just over 18 months ago, I got sacked from my job in a supermarket and obviously I've not really looked back since," Filer said. "It's been a whirlwind 18 months or so, and I think having that background has sort of made me work even harder. I've not wanted to look back and I just want to keep growing."

Filer got the chop in the lead-up to Christmas 2022, ostensibly because she was spending too much time playing cricket, and not enough putting the shift-work in. However, hindsight clearly shows that her priorities were spot on.

"It's obviously a strange story, it's probably not similar to most other people," she said. "I feel like a lot of people come into cricket quite young and I was quite young, but I don't think I got necessarily the professional side of cricket until a year ago. So yeah, it's a bit strange, but it's so good to be where I'm now."

Filer turned just 23 in December but has been making the wider public sit up and take notice with her express pace since taking four wickets - two in each innings - on international debut against Australia in the Test which kicked off the Ashes last June.

"I think it was the professionalism coming into the game," Filer added. "I received a contract about five, maybe six, months before I got my England call-up, so I think that really helped. It made me have a winter where I could build up and use the coaches, use the skills and have training full-time.

"That really helped me progress within a few months of actually then being able to go to these England camps and try and show what I can do, and I think I did that. I obviously wasn't expecting the call-up at all during the Ashes, but when it happened it was great and England have supported me along with Western Storm through that. I just want to try and keep improving and getting better."

Filer made her T20I debut in the first match against New Zealand and remains wicketless so far from her two appearances there, but she is soaking up the experience of playing alongside the likes of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone, who only returned to action for England from the fourth T20I after the WPL. Both were pivotal in a clinical five-wicket win in the fifth match in Wellington, reducing New Zealand to 69 for 5 before a maiden international half-century to 19-year-old Izzy Gaze gave the hosts some hope.
Sciver-Brunt then combined with captain Heather Knight for a 57-run partnership to reel in a modest target of 137, but it was with the ball that Sciver-Brunt was most damaging, taking two wickets in her first two overs as New Zealand lurched to 10 for 2.

"I saw Nat bowling in the warm-up and thought she'd have a good day," Filer said. "She was hitting line and length, swinging the ball and it just looked great, so when she started bowling and kept them down, I wasn't surprised at all.

"To have her bowl especially in the powerplay is phenomenal and it's something you kind of take for granted when you're at the other end, especially when I'm probably one of the people that might leak runs a little bit more than that, so it's good to have someone like that at the other end.

"And obviously Eccles is again a great player. She doesn't really have a game without performing with either the ball or bat or taking an amazing catch, like she did off her bowling. They're both outstanding players and I think it's very hard to keep them out of the game when they do come back into an England shirt."

While team stalwarts Sciver-Brunt, Ecclestone and Knight have performed in New Zealand, England have continued to develop enviable depth, with Maia Bouchier leading the run-scoring for the series with 223 at an average of 55.75 and off-spinner Charlie Dean leading the wicket-takers with seven at 19.14. Both have been around the England set-up for some time but missed the Ashes, returning for last year's late-summer series against Sri Lanka, where Bouchier also made her ODI debut.

"I'm a relatively new, fresh face and I think we've had a few other fresh faces come in," Filer said. "The mighty Boosh [Bouchier], as we call her, she's in some great form, hitting loads of bombs, and with that and obviously with the senior players as well, we're heading in the right direction. I think we can only go up from here."

Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women's cricket, at ESPNcricinfo

Read 76 times

Soccer

Southampton vs Liverpool: Slot hails resilient win

Southampton vs Liverpool: Slot hails resilient win

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLiverpool boss Arne Slot praised his team for mounting a second-hal...

Vini, Mbappé connect as Madrid ease past Leganés

Vini, Mbappé connect as Madrid ease past Leganés

Kylian Mbappé ended his goal drought with a thunderous strike and midfielder Jude Bellingham scored...

Marta, Orlando Pride win 1st NWSL Championship

Marta, Orlando Pride win 1st NWSL Championship

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Barbra Banda's goal stood up as the winner to l...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Sources: Hornets' Williams out for rest of season

Sources: Hornets' Williams out for rest of season

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCharlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams sustained season-ending te...

'Phenomenal' Pippen Jr. shines in dad's ex-arena

'Phenomenal' Pippen Jr. shines in dad's ex-arena

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsScotty Pippen Jr. already had plenty of fond memories of watching h...

Baseball

Carty, 1970 NL batting champ with Braves, dies

Carty, 1970 NL batting champ with Braves, dies

EmailPrintRico Carty, who won the 1970 National League batting title when he hit a major-league-best...

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Outfielder Austin Hays and right-hander Kyle Finnegan -...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated