×
×
Alyssa Healy’s opportunity to test her readiness with the wicketkeeping gloves was thwarted when the Governor-General match against England was abandoned after less than 29 overs due to rain in Sydney. Healy had hoped to assess her performance behind the stumps, following her role as a batter in the New Zealand series late last year. […]
Alyssa Healy’s opportunity to test her readiness with the wicketkeeping gloves was thwarted when the Governor-General match against England was abandoned after less than 29 overs due to rain in Sydney. Healy had hoped to assess her performance behind the stumps, following her role as a batter in the New Zealand series late last year. Unfortunately, the weather conditions prevented any wicketkeeping practice.
Despite the rain disruption, Healy made the most of her time at the crease, scoring a solid 38 runs in a rapid opening stand with Georgia Voll. Voll continued to impress, contributing a quick-fire half-century off just 38 balls. Meanwhile, quick bowler Lauren Filer struggled with her footing during the match, facing a challenging start to her Ashes tour as she struggled to maintain her rhythm in the delivery stride.
Explore the latest blogs on IPLbookmakers.
After the game was called off due to frequent rain stoppages, Alyssa Healy took advantage of the break by having a 20-minute wicketkeeping session on the outfield with Australia’s coaching staff, preparing for Sunday’s first ODI. The match had been delayed by rain, and once play started, Filer faced significant difficulties with her footing. Slipping multiple times while bowling from the Scoreboard End, she was unable to maintain her rhythm, and the players were taken off the field again when rain returned.
When play resumed, Filer was unable to complete her opening over, with Nat Sciver-Brunt bowling the final delivery. She returned from the Fig Tree End but continued to struggle with her footing, finishing with disappointing figures of 2.5-0-33-0. However, England’s coach Jon Lewis downplayed concerns over Filer’s performance, noting that slipping was not unusual for her in training as she powered through her delivery stride. He added that the damp conditions had made it even more difficult for the bowler.
“It’s a very similar thing to what Mark Wood does,” Lewis said. “When your front foot lands, you are trying to get your front leg and to do that you pull your leg back…so if there’s nothing for you to grip against when you pull your leg then you tumble. It was little bit greasy out there so wasn’t ideal for her, but we hope the wicket on Sunday will be a little less grassy and a bit drier.”
As groundstaff worked on the take-off area during Filer’s opening over, there was a lengthy discussion between the England players, the umpires, and coach Jon Lewis. He acknowledged that the conditions were far from ideal, contributing to the difficulties faced by his bowlers.
“There’s always a risk when it’s a little bit wet,” he said. “Was I uncomfortable, probably not, was I comfortable probably somewhere in the middle between the two things. Again, it was important to try and get some overs into our bowlers in this game.”
Lewis remained confident that Filer’s struggles during her first bowl wouldn’t impact her performance moving forward. He emphasized that her pace, which had been seen as a key asset to England’s attack, would still provide a cutting edge throughout the tour.
“She’s pretty confident with where she’s at,” Lewis said. “She bowled well down pace there for what she would normally bowl because it was quite hard to stand up. When you are a bowler and it’s hard to stand up it’s not easy to put the ball where you want it because you are running in at 20kph an hour and trying to land a ball in a really small space.”
Filer’s inclusion in the opening ODI may depend on the fitness of Kate Cross, who was absent from the warm-up game due to back spasms that had affected her previous tour of South Africa. Cross instead bowled at Cricket Central, and Lewis indicated that they would have a clearer understanding of her availability in the coming days. He also downplayed the impact of the truncated warm-up match, stating it wasn’t of significant concern.
“We’d have liked to have played more cricket, [but] we can’t control the weather,” he said. “We’ll front up on Sunday, the players are ready, we’ve played a lot of cricket over the last four or five months since the World Cup, through South Africa…so they’ve come here and it feels like they’ve hit the ground running so we feel like we’re in a pretty good space.”
The forecast for the next few days in Sydney predicts more showers, which could potentially affect the preparations of both teams.
Read More: South Africa Minister: Afghanistan’s Champions Trophy Spot ‘Hypocritical