Kate Cross reveals disc bulge issue ahead of Women’s Ashes as she faces race against time to be fit for the series.
Kate Cross reveals she is doing all she can to be fit for Sunday’s opening Ashes fixture in Sydney as she continues her return from a back injury.
In order to continue preparing for a comeback to play, Cross, England’s incredibly dependable and experienced seamer, missed the Test after suffering back spasms during the third ODI in South Africa last month. After returning home, scans showed a slightly bulging disc, and she missed the only Ashes warm-up against a Governor General’s XI, which washed out in the 29th over on Thursday.
“It’s been a bit of a frustrating one and I’m the kind of person that’s not used to having injuries,” Cross told ESPNcricinfo when asked how her recovery was progressing, and whether she was on track to play the first ODI at North Sydney Oval.
“!t’s been a bit of a tough period but it’s just one of them. I’ve just got to take it day by day, taking each day as it comes really, and seeing what I can and can’t do. But obviously the Ashes is such a huge series, I’m desperate to play a part in it, so just working really hard.”
Cross is one of only a few players left from the England team that last won the Ashes on Australian soil in 2014, along with Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, and skipper Heather Knight.
She can therefore offer a plethora of guidance to England’s younger players, albeit it goes without saying that she would prefer to assist on the pitch. She made her Test debut at Perth in the 2013–14 series, where she was instrumental in helping Australia fall 61 runs short of their 185-run mark by taking three wickets in each innings, including three for nothing in seven deliveries in the fourth innings.
Cross, a member of the ODI and Test teams for this series, bowled in the nets on Thursday at Cricket Central in Sydney. England Women’s head coach Jon Lewis anticipated hearing back in the next few days regarding Cross’s fitness to play.
“I had another scan when I got back to the UK and there was a tiny, tiny, tiny little disc bulge in my back and a little bit of fluid in there,” Cross said. “I had an epidural over the Christmas period to try and settle it all down. Back injuries can be a little bit unpredictable so I’m just working through it all each day.
“It’s always frustrating to have an injury and especially an injury that that stops me doing my job. When it’s something that physically keeps you from bowling, then that’s what I’ve found a little bit more difficult.
“I’m still really lucky that we’ve got the best science and medicine team available and I’m out in Australia working really hard to try and get as fit as possible as quickly as possible. If I get to play some cricket, brilliant. If I don’t, then I’m hopefully still able to contribute off the pitch as well and help what is quite a youngish bowling attack.”