Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt star as England ease to dominant series win...T20I TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND: England wrapped up a T20I series win with a routine victory against Bismah Maroof's Pakistan side in Kuala Lumpur

Make no mistake, this was as brutal a display as anything served up by Australia during the summer’s Ashes series. Only this time, England were handing out the lesson. The damage was done inside the first 15 overs of the match; a blip followed in their final throes with the bat, before accomplishing all that was necessary with the ball.

On a flat surface – Heather Knight was thrilled after winning the toss, her side made hay from the very first delivery, when Amy Jones bunted a Diana Baig full toss for the first of 14 boundaries in another sparkling knock from the wicketkeeper. She made 89 on this occasion.

In truth, the disparity between the two teams was huge in this second instalment in a way that, perhaps, was masked by a stodgy pitch in the first T20I of the series.

Where Bismah Maroof’s side gave away no extras on Tuesday, there were two free-hits here. Where the lines of the seamers had made scoring more difficult, on this occasion they were wayward, testing both sides of the wicket. When Diana Baig didn’t stray too full, she dropped too short.

Not all was lost for the nominal home side at this empty ground in Kuala Lumpur; Nahida Khan took a terrific catch to see the back of Knight, while Syeeda Aroob Shah impressed once again, even if she was treated with far greater aggression than on her T20I debut last time out. That England had been forced to return with a plan against her was, in itself, a victory of sorts for the teenage leg-spinner.

For England, it is difficult to truly know what they can have learnt from a win like this. In the context of a humbling summer defeat against Australia, it has been easily forgotten that, until then, they had enjoyed a dominant run, beating West Indies in a similar manner.

What was noticeable here, however, was a very deliberate attempt to hit straight against the Pakistani spinners. A common criticism through the Australia series was of England’s over-reliance on cross-batted strokes. Batters were regularly trapped in front of their stumps as they looked to shuffle across to the off-side to open up the sweep shot as a viable option.

In an innings where 15 overs were bowled by spinners, a feature of Jones’ 120-run stand with Danni Wyatt was their desire to hit back past the bowler. The pair hit 5 sixes between them, with Wyatt – in her 100th T20I – lofting over extra-cover beautifully. Eventually, Bismah had stationed her long-off almost directly behind the bowler’s arm to counter the pair’s straight hitting.

Between the seventh and fifteenth overs, England plundered 91 runs. It was an impressive, prolonged assault on an attack that had made it difficult at times for the tourists two days ago. Aroob, so effective then, was taken for 37 from her four overs – she managed just six dot balls, having gone at just 5.25 runs per over in the first encounter.

^{Mady Villiers recorded figures of 2 for 21 from her four overs}

Even against Bismah, whose lack of pace can make it tough to score against her, Wyatt and Jones were savage. Both were prepared to take the agricultural route, occasionally hacking legside. They charged her almost exclusively, looking to force momentum into their stroke-play.

When Wyatt fell for 55 and Jones, latterly, for 89, England slowed up drastically. From looking nailed on to reach 200, they fell well short in the end – not that it mattered in the context of this game.

However, as Lisa Keightley looks to next year’s T20 World Cup and the value of a dangerous finisher, she will have wanted more from her middle order.

Nat Sciver, Heather Knight, Fran Wilson and Katherine Brunt managed just two boundaries between them from the 34 balls faced by the quartet. Given the platform laid above them, this was hardly the grandstand ending the new coach would have been after.

Granted, there was some experimentation – Tammy Beaumont only wandered out to the middle for the final ball of the innings, while Brunt was sent in at the fall of the fourth wicket.

Despite her big-hitting tag, she struggled to get bat on ball and, like her teammates, was perhaps guilty of attempting to overhit the ball. It is an area that England must continue to perfect as they look to stumble upon a formula to take into 2020.

With the ball, England were as efficient as necessary, in truth. As a contest, the game was done once Bismah had chipped Sophie Ecclestone to cover. There was even time for three separate maidens for the impressive Mady Villiers, Ecclestone and Sciver. Sarah Glenn, once again, was in the wickets. She has enjoyed a dream tour, with her extra height making her wrist-spin a hugely effective weapon.

If there is a question mark over England’s bowling stocks, it comes among their seamers. Not for some time have Brunt and Anya Shrubsole been questioned, but they have endured difficult periods in recent months.

Shrubsole was left out here, while Brunt was expensive once again. Freya Davies, the leading wicket-taker in last season’s Kia Super League, impressed and is surely a shoe-in for the foreseeable future. It would be premature, though, to seriously doubt either Shrubsole or Brunt, two icons of the women's game, who have done so much for this side.

Subscribe to The Cricketer this Christmas and receive a £20 John Lewis voucher or Alastair Cook’s autobiography. Claim your free gift here