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High scores enforce need to evolve

Coach Matthew Mott says recent history indicates scores of close to 200 are needed at World T20

Recent record-breaking scores in the United Kingdom have provided a timely reminder to Australia that they cannot rest on their laurels ahead of this year’s Women’s World T20, coach Matthew Mott says.

Australia broke the record for the highest total in a women’s T20I in March, scoring 3-209 against England, but it was broken twice in the space of one afternoon in Taunton late last month as first New Zealand scored 1-216 against South Africa, before England blasted 3-250 against the same opposition.

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Australia's centrally-contracted batters assembled in Brisbane last week for a training camp at the Bupa National Cricket Centre, where the focus was firmly be on their 20-over game ahead of the World T20 in the Caribbean in November.

Mott says the recent run-fest puts the onus on his players to continue evolving as they aim to win back the title they lost to the West Indies in 2016.

"I think we come away from (the tour of) India pretty happy with the style of play we were able to achieve over there against really good quality opposition in England and India," Mott told cricket.com.au.

"But you only have to look at recent results between England, South Africa and New Zealand to see the bar, particularly the run-scoring bar, has been raised again."

A big part of that involves encouraging his batters to become 360-degree players. With only four fielders allowed outside the circle in women's matches, the ability to hit all around the ground can be particularly fruitful.

"We have got to continue to keep evolving and find ways with the bat to exploit all areas of the ground," he said.

"With the ball, it’s about finding ways to be able to get the batters to hit into the pockets we want them to hit into, rather than chasing the game.

"We’ve also got to be really proactive with our bowling plans to try and get batters out of their comfort zone more often.

"You can see the trend around the world and it’s only going to get harder and harder for the bowlers to adjust and adapt."

While Mott can’t see scores of 250 becoming the norm, he does believe 200 is the mark his team should be aiming for.

"I think you could see the tide was turning that way, but not by so much," he said. "I thought 200 a good statement in itself (in March) but to go to 250, that’s another level again.

"I don’t expect we’ll see the likes of that too often, but looking at the highlights (of England against South Africa) it was one of those days where absolutely everything came off.

"But how we’ll judge ourselves is around how many scores we’ll get between the 180 to 200 mark, where you’ll put most teams out of the contest.

"Particularly with two evenly matched sides, if you’re getting to around the 200 mark, you’ll win a lot more games than you’ll lose. But to take it to 250 was an extraordinary effort, no doubt about that."

The camp in Brisbane was a key chance for the Australian batters to come together and prepare for their Commonwealth Bank T20I series against New Zealand, beginning in late September, before they head overseas for a series against Pakistan in October.

Those two series will serve as preparation for November’s World T20, where Australia begin their campaign against Pakistan in Guyana on November 9.