Perry rose to the occasion at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Teenager Ellyse Perry produced a superb all-round performance as Australia beat England by 21 runs in the women's Twenty20 international in Melbourne.

She hit an unbeaten 29 off 25 balls to see her side to 127-5 and then wrecked England's run chase with the ball.

The tourists were still in contention when they began the 17th over on 89-4.

But Perry, just 17, ran out top scorer Claire Taylor for 34 and then produced a four-over spell of 4-20 as England came up short on 106-8.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to England's start to the tour of Australia

The match was played immediately the Australia v India men's Twenty20 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and attracted a crowd of over 20,000.

England were without batter Sarah Taylor, who damaged ankle ligaments in Wednesday's warm-up game against Australia's under-21 side.

But they could be satisfied with their efforts in the field, reducing Australia to 71-5 before Perry and Kate Blackwell (30) shared an unbroken stand of 56 in eight overs.

Off-spinner Rosalie Birch tied down the home side with a fine mid-innings spell of 1-12, but Blackwell and Perry provided the acceleration Australia needed to post a competitive total.

England's Nicki Shaw plays an on-drive during their run chase

England made a reasonable start in reply before losing Beth Morgan (16) and skipper Charlotte Edwards (12) in successive overs.

Claire Taylor kept the scoreboard ticking over, scoring at faster than a run a ball despite hitting only two boundaries.

But a useful stand of 28 with Birch (10) was broken by Perry, with Birch well-caught by help Shelley Nitschke at long-on, and Taylor's dismissal at the start of the 18th over left England with too much to do.

Perry bowled Jenny Gunn for a duck three balls later and with England needing 30 off the final over, she added the wickets of Caroline Atkins and Laura Marsh to seal victory.

Also in the national under-20 women's football team, the Young Matildas, Perry knows eventually she will have to settle on one sport.

"It's a good question, one I've been asked fairly frequently, lately," she said.