Governor General XI 183 for 8 (Voll 57, Healy 38, Ecclestone 3-27, Dean 2-20) v. England
Abandoned match
After the game was called due to frequent stoppages, Healy had a 20-minute maintenance session in the outfield with the Australia coaching staff before Sunday’s first ODI.
Rain delayed the start after the toss and when play began, Filer struggled to keep his footing from the end of the scoreboard and slipped four times before the rain washed away the players again.
On the resumption, Filer did not complete his opening and Nat Sciver-Brunt bowled the final delivery. Filer later returned from Fig Tree End but again continued to slip in his delivery pace and finished with figures of 2.5-0-33-0.
However, England coach Jon Lewis was not overly concerned about Filer’s difficulties, saying it was something he often did in training as he progressed through the area and the wet conditions made it even more challenging.
“It’s very similar to what Mark Wood does,” Lewis said. “When your front foot lands, you try to lift your front leg, and to do that you throw your leg back… so if there’s nothing to grab on to when you throw your leg, then you fall. It was a little greasy out there.” “It wasn’t ideal for her, but we’re hoping Sunday’s ground will be a little less grassy and a little drier.”
“She’s pretty sure where she is,” Lewis said. “She bowled at a very slow pace compared to what she would normally do because it was quite difficult to stand up. When you are a bowler and it is difficult to stand up, it is not easy to put the ball where you want it because you are running at a very low speed. At 20 kilometers per hour and trying to land a ball in a really small space.
Whether Filer plays the opening ODI may depend on the fitness of Kate Cross, who did not feature in the warm-up game and was instead dropped on cricket Central, following back spasms that cut short her tour of South Africa. . Lewis said they would have a clearer idea of his availability in the coming days.
The forecast for the next few days in Sydney is for more rain which may affect the preparations of both parties.
