2026-07-05 11:31:03
Lauren Filer got sacked from Tesco because she played too much cricket.
The England bowler has revealed how she was dismissed from her job at the supermarket because she was focused on playing in The Hundred in the summer of 2022.
Filer told Wisden Cricket Monthly: “They have an arrangement where you can go back to university and when you come back you still have a job, I basically did a cricket version of it where I didn’t work in the summer.
“At first they were fine with it, but during my first year in The Hundred my parents received a letter saying I’d been sacked. The next summer I played for England, so it worked out in the end!”
Filer recalled how she left an 11-year-old nursing an injury when she played against younger boys during her school days.
The Durham seamer recalled: “I was 14 or 15 playing an under-13s club game and a little 11-year-old came out.
“The first ball I bowled at him nipped off the seam and hit him in the head and broke his helmet. I felt so bad! We decided I shouldn’t be playing under-13s boys after that!”
Filer also left her mum feeling sore with her teenage bowling.
She said: “When I was in my early teens, we were in the nets and she was moaning that nobody was bowling at her. I ended up hitting her on the back of the calf. She had a bruise for about two months! After that she never wanted to face me again.”
Meanwhile, Filer is determined to become the first female English bowler to break the 80mph barrier with her deliveries.
She said: “It’s a goal that’s in the background, but it’s not something I’m actively pushing towards. Pace isn’t as sought out in the women’s game as it is in the men’s.
“Obviously, it’d be amazing to hit it and I’d love to be the first English bowler to do so. I’m working in the gym and on my action and hopefully I can hit some top speeds this summer.”
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