HOLLY’S ASHES THOUGHTS
Ferling on missing Series and how Aussies will go
SHE may not be taking to the field for the Women’s Ashes Series this weekend but Holly Ferling knows exactly what they Australian team could be feeling.
The three-time Ashes player spoke with The Chronicle ahead of the Series which kicks off on Sunday against England.
Q. You’re not playing on Sunday?
I had elbow surgery just after Australian Day this year.
I then chipped a bone in my wrist from the rehab so it has just been one injury after another.
Q. How do you think Australia will go against England?
England are the old rivals, they’re always the team you want to beat.
You want to play the best and beat the best, particularly coming off World Cup which England won.
The Aussie girls really itching to get their own back in this tournament.
Obviously I want Australia to come out on top, it’s going to be a hard-fought contest.
I think it will come down to the 20/20 as to who takes out the series.
Q. What do Australia need to do to win?
Australia have always been clinical in one part of their game whether it be a good performance with the ball or bat.
The two haven’t married up yet in perfect match.
If they’re able to back their batters to put runs on and also back the bowlers to defend whatever total they will go a long way to winning this.
The illusive thing in cricket is putting all three parts of your game together in one match, they will definitely be chasing that come Sunday.
Q. Will you still be there on Sunday?
Yeah I’ll be going out at the lunch break to have a chat to a few our our MILO Cricket AND T20 Blasts girls and running a junior competition.
I’m super fortunate to be involved with MILO (as an ambassador), supporting grass roots cricket.
That’s where I got my first taste of cricket, a MILO clinic which was known as Kanga Cricket back then.
It’s insane how far it’s
come.
Q. What was it like growing up playing cricket in Kingaroy?
I was there until Year 12 and played a lot against boys and men.
I played alongside my brother and then was asked to play in the men’s competition and went from there.
I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with men and boys cricket.
The really awesome thing now is there are so many more female participants that there are now girls teams in boys competitions.
It’s something I never dreamed would happen in five short years.
Q. What’s the biggest
change you have seen from then to now?
More girls are getting out there and giving it a go.
The visibility of the WNBL having the alignment with the BBL the boys do has really pushed cricket as a family sport, it’s for everyone.
Q. What is it like to see where women’s cricket is today?
I don’t think we ever dreamed we would have this many females participating in grass roots programs.
I never thought we would have a competition like the WNBL on television.
Women’s cricket isn’t just a watered down version of men’s cricket we all play the same game.