'I'm feeling a lot better now' - Kate Cross ready to play solitary Women's Ashes Test against Australia

England seamer Kate Cross said that she will be ready for the Women's Ashes campaign, which begins on Thursday, June 22. She was called up to the England Women's Test squad for their opening Ashes match at Trent Bridge while she was suffering from a stubborn form of Giardia, a parasite infection of the intestines, which she contracted in March 2023. However, she is set to lead an inexperienced England seam attack against Australia Women in the one-off Test after recovering from the nasty illness.

Ahead of the one-off Test match, Cross opened up about her current health condition, stating she is feeling a lot better now. The 31-year-old said she had to work hard mentally as well as physically because her sickness was not a conventional injury. Furthermore, she added that the disease had drained her out mentally a lot and that being included in the Ashes squad was particularly hard at the time.

"I'm feeling a lot better now. It's been a really strange one. It's been something I've had to really work hard mentally at as well. It's not been a standard injury where you've got your regular stepping stones to getting back on the cricket pitch. It's been very up and down, which is something that mentally I've struggled quite a lot with. Then you add an Ashes timeline on to the end of it and a deadline there, so it was quite stressful," Cross told ESPNcricinfo

Cross opens up about her phone call with coach Lewis

Kate Cross then revealed that she received a phone call from England Women's head coach Jon Lewis while she was sick, telling her that she would not have forgotten how to bowl. The 31-year-old went on to say that the coach encouraged her to focus on becoming better before thinking about cricket and that he feels really fortunate that she can make a stronger comeback.

"I'm a bowler that likes to have a lot of overs under the belt, especially going into Test cricket. So it's been something I've had to adapt to. But Jon Lewis actually rang me midway through all of this and just said, 'You're not going to have forgotten how to bowl, Kate. Just make sure you get better before you start thinking about cricket.' So I just feel really fortunate," Cross concluded.