TAUNTON saw a feast of runs as the women's IT20 series got underway on Wednesday, but Anya Shrubsole stood firm amid the chaos.

On a day which saw 745 runs scored in 80 overs - including the world-record women's IT20 score being broken twice in one day - Shrubsole's four overs included two maidens and conceded just eight overall as she enjoyed the familiar surroundings of her home ground.

Shrubsole's opening spell from the Somerset Pavilion End ensured South Africa were never in with a chance of chasing England's mammoth 250-3, which was dominated by Tammy Beaumont's 116 from just 52 balls.

Speaking afterwards, Shrubsole said: "You are almost in a no-lose situation as a bowler as people are just expecting you to get whacked.

"I was pretty lucky that the ball swung and that worked in my favour, but all the credit for today needs to go to the girls who batted."

The sheer volume of runs scored by both England's men and women this week - the men broke an ODI world record of 481-6 against Australia in Tuesday - has reignited a debate about the balance between bat and ball in limited overs cricket.

When asked whether pitches like the one in Taunton on Wednesday offer enough for all disciplines to feel in the game, Shrubsole said: "I don’t want to sound like a grumpy fast bowler… if you ask people who watch the games they want to see high-scoring games. They want to see fours and sixes.

“I think there will be a time in women’s cricket where we have five fielders back out [on the boundary].

"I don’t think that will be just yet but I do think if you keep seeing really high scores the balance needs to be looked at.

“The game is in a really good place. I would challenge anyone here today to say that wasn’t a thoroughly entertaining day of cricket. Some of the bowlers might have their pride hurt a little bit but there’s always another day.

“One of the things we often talk about is that women’s T20 has been dominated by bowling sides in recent years and there’s been a lot of sub-continent World Cups with slow pitches and big boundaries.

“The pitches make a huge difference and you know that in England, Australia and New Zealand the pitches are always more like this [Taunton].

"The batters are able to come out and play their shots and know they don’t have to worry about the ball not getting above shin height or anything like that. Anyone here today would have been entertained and it shows where women’s cricket is moving.”