Women's Ashes: Heather Knight backs Lauren Filer to give England 'wicket-taking' edge

London [UK], June 22 (ANI): Ahead of the first Women's Ashes Test against Australia, England captain Heather Knight expressed plenty of faith in Lauren Filer to give hosts the wicket-taking edge against the visitors.
The Knight-led side will feature in the only Test to be played from June 22 to 26 at Nottingham. This will be the first five-day Test for England women on English soil.
Lauren Filer gives a sense of mystery to the opposition, but it is her qualities as an impact bowler that have won her an international debut for England in the Women's Ashes Test.
With over 15,000 people expected to witness the five-day match against Australia at Trent Bridge, Filer has made it this far. She knocked off another young but more experienced Issy Wong for a spot in the team.
Filer has taken eight wickets for Western Storm in four Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches this year at an average of 28.62, and five wickets in five Charlotte Edwards Cup matches at an average of 24.80. Filer, who is uncapped at the international level, was the beneficiary of good domestic form. She has been a top-notch performer with the ball for the Western Storm, in their last two campaigns.
"It's hugely exciting for her. We've gone for her because we think she's a real impact bowler. I guess she's a bit of an unknown but she bowls wicket-taking deliveries and for me she's, if not the quickest, one of the quickest in the country. She gets bounced, and she's got skills, moves the ball both ways and ultimately we need a team that's going to take 20 wickets and we feel like she gives us that. She can bang the ball in as well, there are not too many people queueing up to face her in the nets. I'm really excited for her to see how she goes," ESPNcricinfo quoted Knight as saying.
On the flip side of the career spectrum, Danni Wyatt will make her Test debut after 14 years of international experience. The seasoned player took part in England A's recent three-day match against Australia in Leicestershire. She scored 37 runs in the first two innings before succumbing to Darcie Brown. The batter was also a force in the Charlotte Edwards Cup 2023, finishing as the competition's highest run-scorer with 273 runs.
"I think probably at one point Danni probably felt like she was never going to get a Test cap. We picked her because we want her to play exactly how she does in the middle order in ODI cricket. She's one of the best players, and the best attackers, of spin in the world game for me and she makes it very tricky to set fields, she scores in quite unusual areas. That's exactly how I want her to play, how she does in white-ball cricket, have a little bit of a counter-punch and use her experience there as well," Knight said.
The Women's Ashes 2023 will be a multi-format series comprising a one-off Test, three T20Is and three ODIs. The Test carries four points, while each of the T20Is and ODIs carries two points. (ANI)