Fast bowler Lauren Filer will again look to turn up the heat on India and has her target set on a milestone 80mph delivery as England look to square the T20 series.
England kept the series alive with a nail-biting five-run victory at The Oval on Friday when Filer registered a delivery of 79.4mph and also took a couple of key wickets – including India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana.
Now she wants to maintain that speed consistency in the fourth T20 at Old Trafford on Wednesday where she hopes her pace will keep India on the back foot.
With Nat Sciver-Brunt out injured, Charlotte Edwards’ side will be captained by Tammy Beaumont again as England aim to level the T20 series and head into a winner-takes-all decider at Edgbaston on Saturday.
And, while the 80mph mark has never been officially recorded in a women’s international, Filer believes she is nearing that record.
“I knew that I would be able to push close to 80 [mph], I sort of touched on 78 every so often in the last year,” Filer said.
“It is not necessarily hitting that one ball that is 80, because that is not going to make a difference – the difference is the consistency of increasing my speed.
England’s Lauren Filer takes a catch to remove India captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the second women’s T20I
“From the game in Trent Bridge, I think I was averaging 73 then I went up to 75 in Bristol and then 76 at the Oval. That is what I am trying to aim for.
“Hopefully I can hit that 80 number, but it is definitely just about trying to keep consistently bowling at that mid-70s, and I think in the women’s game, that is not heard of very often.”
Filer is pleased that England are still in with a shot at winning the series after their narrow victory last Friday following off from two chastening defeats.
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Highlights from the third T20I match between England women and India women.
“After two defeats, I think we were still in a great place,” Filer added.
“We knew where to improve and we know that on our day we can beat India – and obviously that was proved on Friday night.
“We will be taking the positives from that win and also learning from the mistakes we made in that game – it probably shouldn’t have been as close a game as it was – into Manchester.”
Watch England vs India Fourth T20 live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 6pm
