England Missing Brindle

In an attempt to explain England's flaky batting, I've turned to Science™. In the past 3 years, England have played 30 ODIs, of which they've won 21. It's not a bad record, but watching the team it often feels like their middle-order is fragile and lacking authority; notably when Arran Brindle hasn't been playing.

These are England's batting stats, with and without Brindle, since the start of 2012.

	Collective Average	R.P.O.
With Brindle	31	4.6
Without Brindle	23	4.0

The difference is crystal-clear: England have been scoring a lot more runs (and scoring them significantly faster) with Brindle than they have without her; especially when you consider that the "With" line includes all 6 recent Ashes ODIs, facing the strongest attack in the world, led by Ellyse Perry!

So perhaps what England need is not the "Big Hitter" we've all been dreaming Nat Sciver or Loz Winfield might turn out to be, but a new Arran Brindle? Ironically, the closest player we have to this is the one we left at home, when even the ever-patient England selectors finally got fed-up with her, long after the fans did - one Tamsin Tilley Beaumont! As "Nice Problems To Have" go... this isn't one!

UPDATE: FWIW, with/ without Nat Sciver:

	Collective Average	R.P.O.
With Sciver	28	4.4
Without Sciver	31	4.5