After sending down 44 overs during England’s drawn Test match, off-spinner Laura Marsh has summoned the energy to pen the third of the England camp’s Women’s Ashes diaries.
Final-day fight
It was great to get out of the Test match with a draw after it looked like we could have had a pretty tough final day.
We wanted to win the game and claim all four points but after Ellyse Perry scored all the runs that she did we were a little bit behind the eight ball so it required a really big stand from our top order.
Luckily Heather and Georgia formed a really good partnership and saw us through.
It wasn’t always easy on that final day – I’ve been told that I’m quite jumpy as a watcher!
Obviously at that stage we were just trying to play it out for a draw so any kind of attempt to play a rash shot and I was getting a little bit nervous.
I was sat next to Jenny Gunn and she was getting a bit angry with me. She kept saying, ‘It’s fine, we’ve got it under control!’ so I had to try and relax.
Test memories
Although we weren’t able to win the Test it was an experience that I really enjoyed.
We don’t get to play Test cricket very often so any time you get to put the whites on is really good fun.
It’s disappointing that it ended in a draw because we wanted to win but it was nice to contribute with the ball and bowl in tandem with Sophie Ecclestone, who did so well for an 18-year-old on debut.
The body’s just about returning to its usual state after 40-odd overs – I was a bit stiff but that’s probably to be expected!
I also picked up a fair few bruises during my fielding stint. I’m absolutely covered! It’s something I’m used to, I was nicknamed ‘Peachy’ when I played for the Sydney Sixers a couple of years back.
Get To Know
Get To Know...
LauraMarsh
- AKA: Boggy
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- Age: 38
- Domestic Team: Kent, Surrey Stars
- Fun Fact:
- Laura was the national under-13 javelin champion
- Cricketing Legend:
- Jonty Rhodes
To get that many people in to watch Test cricket is brilliant (over 12,000).
The girls loved being a part of it and on the Saturday evening – albeit it was for Ellyse Perry getting her double hundred – the atmosphere was fantastic.
I did think at that point – it’s pretty special to be here and be playing in the first pink-ball day-night Test.
A quarter-final, a semi-final, a final…
We’re optimistic ahead of the IT20s. We’ve got a job to do and that’s to win all three.
We’ve got to go out there and play positively and generally playing positively is when we’re at our best.
We’re approaching it as a quarter-final, a semi-final and then a final.
The World Cup showed we can win in knockout cricket when it matters so fingers crossed we can keep that going.
Family time
I didn’t hear my parents during the Test, or any of the other families – I think quite a few of them get quite nervous. I reckon four days of watching Test cricket was probably as draining for them as it was for us!
Robbo invited the families into the dressing room after the final day to have a drink and a chat, which was a nice touch.
And after the Test we had a lovely evening with all the families and partners on tour.
It’s nice to get the opportunity to meet everyone’s family because we’re normally in a more worky and professional environment so it’s good to get that downtime and meet some of the coaches’ partners and their little kids.
All you can do is smile at the youngsters, everyone was playing with them and they were loving being the centre of attention.
Our second favourite sport
Away from that, one of my highlights of touring is golf and being able to get away to a nice course.
We played at a really lovely golf course on the coast before the Test. It was me, our doctor James, our analyst Chris and Lauren Winfield.
The doctor’s a good player and Sykesy was good at times but slightly struggled with his putting!
Best views ever…
Just after the Test – ahead of our game against the Governor-General’s XI – we visited the Governor-General’s house.
It was an amazing place, the girls loved being there and it must be the most amazing back garden in the world.
We enjoyed taking some pictures and soaking up the scenery and we met the British High Commissioner to Australia, Menna Rawlings, who – as a fellow Brit – was backing us to win the final three games!
We’ve had a little bit of stick from the Australians who see us in our kit – they claim they’re wishing us good luck but they don’t mean it – so it was nice to get some true support!
We met the Governor-General and his lovely garden today - here we are with the High Commissioner.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) 14 November 2017
We play the GG XI tomorrow. #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/SKcrQtgW17