England seamer Kate Cross will not feature in the first one-day international of the women’s Ashes because of a back injury.

Cross, 33, missed the one-off Test match against South Africa in December after suffering with a back spasm during the third ODI of that tour.

Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell are the frontline seamers selected alongside all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Cross was unable to bowl in the tour’s only warm-up match on Thursday, where only 28.2 overs were completed because of rain in Sydney.

She revealed on the No Balls podcast with Alex Hartley that she had an epidural to try and get herself fit for the first match but was not able to prove her fitness in time.

It is a significant blow for England, as Cross is their most experienced and reliable seamer having played 72 ODIs since her debut in 2013, while Filer and Bell have played 12 and 16 matches respectively.

The multi-format Ashes started on Saturday (23:30 GMT) with the first of three ODIs, which are followed by three T20s and one Test match.

It has not been confirmed whether Cross will be fit for the remaining ODIs, which take place on 13 January in Melbourne and 15 January in Hobart.

She is not in England’s T20 squad but would be likely to play in the Test if able.

Australia hold the Ashes, so England will need to win the points-based series outright in order to regain the trophy.