Taylor refusing to panic as England head to Hobart with Ashes in sight

England’s Sarah Taylor insists there will be no over-reaction to the tourists’ defeat in Melbourne, with the Women’s Ashes still there for the taking tomorrow.

Having moved into a commanding position by banking six points in the only Test of the tour, England also emerged victorious in the first one-day international in Perth and had the chance to secure the urn in the shortest possible time at the MCG on Thursday.

But an off-colour performance, particularly in the field, allied with an improved Australian display saw them edged out by 26 runs.

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While that result kept the series alive, England have another chance to close it out when the sides reconvene in Hobart.

While Taylor accepts her team were not at their best last time out, her response was a calm one.

“I think it was just one of those days,” she said.

“I think it’s just one of those things we need to sweep under the carpet and probably not fret about too much.

“Going into the next game it’s a brand new day, a fresh start and let’s hope we can hold our catches.”

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Taylor’s personal form has been running contrary to the team, with moderate contributions to the wins and a top score of 63 in a losing cause.

“I’ve been struggling with form a little bit,” Taylor conceded.

“You look at the Test match and the first one-dayer and I particularly didn’t do too much with the bat at all. It was just a change of mindset to go out there and prove a point.

“It was nice to get some runs, but I would have liked to be there at the end, scoring the winning runs.”

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As it was, Taylor’s knock was ended by a run-out from Australian debutante Nicole Bolton.

The 25-year-old had already become the first Australian to score a century on debut and completed her dream day by dismissing England’s star performer.

“It’s something that we practise a lot at training, hitting the stumps, and to do it in a game with Sarah Taylor who was actually going it was pretty special,” said Bolton.

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