Marsh climbs out of sticky patch

Laura Marsh signalled a return to form when she took 2-16 in the second one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Colombo

Laura Marsh claims the resurgence in her form is the reward for hours of hard work in the nets with coach Mark Lane.

The 23-year-old was England's best bowler when they won the World Cup last March - she took 17 wickets to help her side to glory in Sydney.

But the off-spinner, who transformed herself from a seam bowler, struggled to attain those dizzy heights and turned to Lane for a few pointers.

The result is two eye-catching performances in Sri Lanka, the latest being a fine spell of 2-16 from eight overs in the second one-day international which was eventually lost to rain. It was a performance which prompted Lane to judge that Marsh was 'back to her best'.

"I'm really pleased with how I am bowling," Marsh told ecb.co.uk.

"I'm happy with how the ball is coming out and the pitches have really helped me.

"My preparation over the winter is paying off. We worked on bowling from a standing position so I could concentrate on my action, then bowling off a full run-up. It's nice to see it working in a game.

"My action is much more consistent, which is something I worked on with Laney. I wanted my action to be more repeatable."

Marsh has been bowling in tandem with fellow off-spinner Danielle Hazell who has impressed in the two games so far, particularly the first one-dayer where she took a career-best 3-22 in the narrow five-run victory.

The pair's nine wickets were one of the main reasons for England's 1-0 series win.

"It's been great having Dani bowling at the other end," said Marsh. "We work well as a partnership."

England's tour to Sri Lanka has been blighted by some awful weather which ruined Wednesday's one-dayer and hampered the team's training schedule.

However, Marsh insisted the trip had been worthwhile with the first ODI victory a valuable outing against improving opposition.

"It's been a good test," said Marsh.

"It was disappointing not to finish the second one-dayer but the first game was a good win. We were under pressure at the end and did well to get over the line."

England now play three Twenty20s starting on Friday and Marsh believes the shorter format will suit the home side who have impressed everyone with the progress they have made in such a short space of time.

"The Twenty20s will be close," predicted Marsh. "They have played some good cricket and are hard to beat in these conditions. Their batsmen have really taken it to us."