The fast bowler says Australia ‘didn’t know who I was’ in the last Ashes but this time around they will be wary of the 24-year-old as she pushes the 80mph barrier

It’s not often that you hear a fast bowler describe themselves as “smiley”, especially not with an Ashes series around the corner. But with days to go until she spearheads England’s attack in Australia, that’s exactly what the 24-year-old Lauren Filer is claiming as her defining characteristic. “I’m a bit too smiley to be the scary fast bowler,” she says. “I tried to stare someone down in South Africa and I laughed because I just couldn’t do it.”

Instead, her approach is to “let my bowling do the talking” – as it did, loudly, in last month’s Bloemfontein Test. On the second day Filer sent down two terrifyingly hostile spells with the new ball, reaching speeds of 78mph and twice hitting players on the helmet – an act of aggression rarely seen before in the women’s game. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but to get a few helmets or gloves is always quite fun,” she says.