Lauren Filer will make her England debut in the one-off Test that marks the start of the multi-format Women’s Ashes after being preferred to fellow seamer Issy Wong.
England have announced their XI, 24 hours out from the start of the Trent Bridge match, with 32-year-old batter Danni Wyatt set for her Test debut after making 245 international white-ball appearances.
Despite being wicketless in a warm-up against an Australia A side last week, England have seen enough from Filer to nudge her ahead of the highly-rated Wong for the five-day fixture.
Filer has taken eight wickets in four matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2023 and five in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, and the 22-year-old is set to be thrust into the biggest test of her career.
She was one of two uncapped players named in England’s Test squad with head coach Jon Lewis praising her as a “genuine wicket-taking threat with good pace and swing” and offering a “point of difference”.
Bowling all-rounder Danielle Gibson will have to wait for her first England cap, with the hosts choosing to bolster their batting as they go in search of a first series win over Australia since 2014.
Wyatt has registered in excess of 4,000 runs in the shorter formats in an international career that started in March 2010 – including a 56-ball T20 hundred against Australia in Canberra in November 2017.
She made a quickfire 37 off 46 balls for England A in a practice match against a full Australia side last week.
