Women's Ashes: Matthew Mott says revised points system 'fairer'

Australia won more games than England in the 2014 Ashes - but lost the series 10-8 on points

Australia coach Matthew Mott feels the revised points system for the Women's Ashes series, which begins next week, is "fairer" than the previous one.

There will be four points, rather than six, on offer for winning the Test, and two for each of the three one-dayers and three Twenty20 internationals.

"The weighting's about right," said Mott.

"Whether you win or lose the Test match, it doesn't really disadvantage or advantage you."

England have won both Ashes series since the multi-format system was brought in, crushing the Southern Stars 12-4 in England in 2013, before winning 10-8 down under early last year.

However, in that series, England won the Test to take a 6-0 lead, which helped them retain the trophy - despite Australia winning two of the three ODIs and two of the three T20 games.

This year's event starts with an ODI in Taunton on Tuesday, 21 July.

Since England triumphed in the Women's Ashes in 2005, they have won or retained the trophy five of the six times it has been contested, but the Australians have come out on top in limited-overs cricket - winning the 2013 World Cup and the last three World Twenty20 tournaments.

"The team's record over the last 10 years speaks for itself, but the one thing that's eluded us is the Ashes," said Mott, whose squad left for the UK on Monday.

"I think 2001 was the last time the team won in England, so there's a lot of payback ready, and the first couple of games will be critical."

However, Southern Stars captain Meg Lanning feels the tourists need to concentrate on their own game, rather than be motivated by retribution for the 2014 series.

"I'm not too sure about 'revenge'. We're just focused on what we can do," she said.

"It's the one thing we haven't been able to win, which the group is very fired up about. We've been able to introduce a couple of new players as well, which is great."

Excitement has been building down under after the announcement by Cricket Australia this week that a Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) will take place in December and January, featuring eight city-based franchise teams aligned with the men's sides.

The WBBL hopes to feature top international players from around the world - as does the Women's Cricket Super League, which will start in England next summer.

BBC Radio will have commentary on all matches of the Women's Ashes series.

The Women's Big Bash was launched in Sydney last week