The hand operated scoreboard read 2/37 in the eighth over, England were regaining momentum after the initial set back and looked to be cruising chasing down Australia’s modest total of 147.

Enter 17 year-old bowling sensation, Holly Ferling.

As she stood at top of her mark, Australian wicketkeeper took a couple of steps back, brought in an extra slip and placed two gullies.

Even on a slow sub-continent pitch the sign was clear, Holly Ferling is quick.

It was a sight not too dissimilar to when Brett Lee made his debut at the MCG over a decade ago.

The blonde hair, the slight hop at the start, the smooth approach to the wicket and then delivering with nice high action, Ferling’s first ball zipped through and collected the faint edge of Danielle Watt’s bat.

It was a wonderful sight, a young tearaway jumping in elation after picking up a vital wicket. Ferling had made a mark.

Born in the same town as Matthew Hayden, Holly Ferling grew up idolising none other than the girl she replaced in the starting 11 in Ellyse Perry.

Asked about her aspirations to be a fast bowler she said Perry has been ideal role model. “Pez (Perry) has been someone I’ve really looked up to and it was such a thrill playing alongside her in the first ODI.”

Playing in only her second ODI she would have done her idol proud. First she sent down another thunderbolt at 120km/h [considered around 145km/h in mens' game] to knock back the stumps and then bowled a splendid economical spell at the end to further halt the scoring.

“I was so nervous trying to keep things simple because I’ve struggled to do that in the past, today I knew if I could keep it fast and quick then I was hopeful they would make the mistake.”

With Ellyse Perry scheduled to back for the next match, there will be plenty drawing comparisons between Australia’s two youngest women cricketers.

Both with flowing blonde hair, they share a close bond and could be inseparable, but Ferling said there was definitely a distinctive difference.

“I have curly hair and I wear a bow so we there is definitely a difference between us.”

Already touted as the potential star, Ferling has been training with the Queensland Fire team since the age of 15 at the Australian institute of sport in Brisbane. It is her period at the institute that initiated the rapid rise to the top.

“I was put through the gym and I learned a great deal about fast bowling.”

She was also sent to Sri Lanka in a training camp before the Twenty20 World Cup and thought that experience had been great learning curve when it came to bowling on pitches with low bounce.

Her performance in the first two ODIs is clear evidence on how quickly she has adjusted to the unfamiliar conditions.

Holly Ferling knows she is still a long way from achieving the success of her idol Ellyse Perry but when your idol simply says “good luck, hit the deck and bowl fast” before a match, one gets the feeling even Perry knows a star is in a making.