“How good is Ellyse Perry!” has been a staple refrain among fans, opponents, pundits, and broadcasters alike throughout her storied 17-year international career. The phrase is no hyperbole, for since her debut for Australia as a 16-year-old, it has only got more difficult to gauge the allrounder’s greatness -- as a batter, bowler, and fielder. Take her match-winning performance for her Women’s Premier League (WPL) side Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday night in New Delhi.
In what was the RCB’s final league-stage fixture of WPL, Ellyse Perry, 33, first took an important catch, diving low and forward, in the deep to dismiss WPL 2023’s Player of the Tournament, Hayley Matthews, off Sophie Devine’s bowling in the powerplay. She then demolished MI with figures of 6 for 15, the best-ever haul by any bowler in WPL history and a personal T20 career-best for the bowler herself, before stroking a vital unbeaten 38-ball 40 at No. 3 in RCB’ successful 114-run chase.
Her all-round efforts sent the Smriti Mandhana-led RCB, who had had a forgettable tournament last season that had led to a fourth-place finish for them in the five-team tournament, through to the WPL playoffs for the first time. Ahead of Friday’s Eliminator in New Delhi, where RCB take on MI for a third time this season and on a second occasion in the space of three days, Perry looked back on her one-woman show for the ages.
“Making the finals was a huge priority for us and we started playing some good cricket at the right time,” Ellyse Perry told reporters on Wednesday in New Delhi during a Zoom media conference organised by the RCB Media. “In every match, it’s about turning up and doing absolutely everything you can to win the important moments but that rests on all of us in the group.
“We’ve played eight games, we’ve got a good feel on what our roles are and how we can contribute to the team. Sometimes one person’s contribution can be a bit more but it’s all about that team effort for us.”
“It’s a brand new experience for all of us,” Ellyse Perry said about the WPL’s ongoing edition. “The tournament is only in its second year and it’s a new experience for all of us. If you look at the crowds and the way the tournament has gone, it’s incomparable to any other league I’ve played in.
“Looking broadly at our team, we’ve got great experience across the board from our international and local players - like someone like Asha [Sobhana, the legspinner], for example who has played a lot of cricket. It’s good to have that blend.”
She also credited the new RCB head coach, Luke Williams, who replaced Ben Sawyer in the position ahead of the ongoing WPL season for the franchise’s improved showing this season. “Luke Williams has brought a lot to the group in keeping things calm and cheerful, in giving us all the confidence and clarity that our best cricket will be good enough in this competition,” Perry said.
Perry, capped over 300 times in international cricket, has only bowled sporadically for Australia in recent years, in white-ball cricket especially. With Australia touring Bangladesh for two limited-overs series over next week and the coming month and the Women’s T20 World Cup being scheduled for September-October in the same country, is there a case for her national team’s captain Alyssa Healy to hand her more bowling opportunities?
Perry doesn’t quite agree.
“I don’t think there’s a case for anything,” Perry said. “The way that I’ve always prepared is that I am always ready to contribute when called up for the same. A lot of it comes down to conditions and how things pan out. What I love doing as a player is to keep working on things and making things I can do well turn out better. It’s not a big deal either way. Just enjoy being a part of the team and whatever your role is within that, it’s about enjoying that.”
Self-effacing, peerless, and in a league of her own. Elite, Perry.
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