By Claire Taylor England women's cricket team

Looking back on the one-day series against New Zealand brings mixed feelings.

Before it began we would have taken a 3-2 victory, but for me the margin does not reflect the difference between the two sides.

Skipper Clare Connor receives the NatWest Series trophy

There are those who have been surprised at the strides the England women's team has taken over the past two years.

They can't believe the changes in physique of the players, their fitness, tactical awareness, the precision of the bowling.

Certainly I think New Zealand were surprised and they seemed slow to react throughout the tour.

Some might say that the 2004 Kiwis look a shadow of the team that won the World Cup in 2000.

There have been changes, but the new players coming in for this tour were part of the NZ Development team that beat us in the preparation for the IWCC Champions tournament in early 2003.

Look instead at the improvements to our side.

On top of the Super Fours competition and lottery funding, there are links to the English Institute of Sport, county academies and the Unversity Centres for Cricket Excellence..

One significant addition to our calendar this summer has been the small group training sessions.

This has given us the chance to train once a week with other England squad players (full and development) in our areas, playing on good quality grass nets or getting valuable practice in the middle.

Two hours of nets followed by an hour of fielding taken by the England Coach make my 170 mile, two and a half hour round trip well worth while.

Yours truly joins in the celebrations at Old Trafford

The men's team is playing well and we're on the up, so there have been the usual comparisons between the men's and women's games.

Comments that women's cricket isn't as good as men's cricket leaves a bitter taste. There are the obvious differences in physique which lead to slower bowling, less boundaries and lower run rates.

There has also been big differences in the identification and development of talent.

There is a well worn route for men's cricketers through numerous junior teams and second XIs into contracts with major counties.

Girls did not have this pathway and I think we lost players to the game because of this.

I strongly feel that young cricketers, male or female, should be encouraged to play cricket at the highest level they can. But this proves difficult if young girls have to travel large distances to get to good cricket.

Why not let them continue to play boys cricket in their local area?

Examples of this are Sarah Taylor and Holly Colvin, two girls taking wickets and scoring runs in boys U15 schools cricket in Sussex.

Talent, whether male or female, needs local provision of appropriate competition and one to one coaching to ensure that players reach their full potential.