England vs. Australia Cricket 2013: Hosts' Batting Average Must Improve

Having begun their Twenty20 trials just as they finished their one-day international triumph, England are in a promising position to tie up a thoroughly convincing Ashes win across all disciplines this summer.

However, the sign of a great side is one that is always in the hunt of self-improvement, and the hosts’ reliance on Sarah Taylor in Tuesday’s T20 opener certainly gives the team something to learn in time for their second match.

In total, Taylor hit no less than 77 runs from 58 balls, accounting for more than half of her team’s overall score and putting them in position to claim the perfect beginning to this leg of Australia’s tour.

While Taylor’s heroics might have been admirable, the failure to produce from the majority of England’s women can only be considered disappointing, with Danni Wyatt the only other player managing to score 20 runs or more (28).

Regardless of the imbalance, the England Cricket Twitter account proves that those on hand to watch are still enjoying their time:

The story was much the same in England’s last one-day international, where Taylor again took on the brunt of the scoring for her side, while Heather Knight also pitched in with a very respectable run offering. In that match, the pair scored 64 and 69, respectively, whereas their teammates could only muster 71 between them.

Though it’s certainly beneficial to have a couple of big names whom you can rely on to notch the runs—especially in T20—the ability to put faith in numerous talents across one’s roster is assuredly the safer approach, and it's something that England need a little more of.

Even though the opponents from Down Under lost their third match of the series on Tuesday, they actually had a far better understanding of this principle, seeing four of their eight players achieve a score of 20 or more on the day.

One would expect Charlotte Edwards in particular to improve upon her first T20 run tally of just 17, and rightly so given her seniority in the batting order.

This Thursday, England’s women take to Southampton looking to sew up a resounding defeat of their Southern Hemisphere opponents but need a stronger team effort on display if they’re to do just that.