Ellyse Perry

One of the greatest ever to take to a cricket field, Ellyse Perry’s unparalleled skills and innumerable accolades have firmly placed her amongst the legends of the game. Possessing the skill and technique that rivals some of the best top-order batters and the pace and control of some of the finest fast bowlers, so adept and complete is she as an all-rounder that she could easily command a place in the XI with just either one of her skillsets. What’s even more astounding is that she juggled playing two sports for Australia, cricket and soccer, at the highest level up until 2014.

A natural athlete who took up various different sports at school, it probably wasn’t a surprise for those who knew Perry to see her making it to the highest level in two sports. Such was Perry’s talent that she was elevated to the Australian side in 2007, aged just 16 and with no senior level cricket behind her. She made her international debut in that series and became the youngest ever to represent Australia. A few months later, she also became Australia’s youngest ever Test cricketer after making her debut in the 2007-08 Women’s Ashes Test.

It was after the 2010 Women’s T20 World Cup, however, when Perry became a household name. She played a big part in a dramatic semi-final that saw Australia beat India and then again in the final when she famously struck a boot out to stop Sophie Devine from getting what looked like a certain boundary that would’ve won New Zealand the game. But that wasn’t all, earlier, she’d already picked up 3 wickets as Australia won by just 3 runs whilst defending a mere 106 to win their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup title. For her efforts, Perry was named the player of the match.

Perry was a critical part of the Australian team that dominated the world stage in the following years. She was a part of the squad that reclaimed the Ashes in 2011-12 after a six year wait and later that season, she also played an instrumental part in the 2012 Women’s T20 World Cup where Australia successfully defended their title.

In what was an exemplary display of commitment, Perry battled through an ankle injury and helped Australia lift the 2013 Women’s World Cup. She had already missed three matches earlier in the tournament to the same injury but Australia wanted their talisman for the final against the West Indies. She did alright with the bat - scoring a brisk 22-ball 25 but the trouble started when she came on to bowl. After a couple of false starts, it was clear the injury had resurfaced. Australia couldn’t afford to lose one of their front-line bowlers in a final and Perry knew that. Fighting against the pain, not only did Perry break open the game for Australia by picking up the first three wickets but also bowled her full quota of 10 overs as Australia beat the West Indies by 114 runs. Following the World Cup, she had to undergo surgery to repair a fractured ankle.

Through the years, the accolades and achievements just kept racking up as Perry became one of the most celebrated cricketers. She was Player of the Series in both the 2013-14 and the 2015 Women’s Ashes and even as Australia suffered a couple of setbacks in the next two years, Perry’s performances remained perennially outstanding. In the Only Test of the 2017-18 Women’s Ashes, she scored her maiden international century and it was a double - an unbeaten 213 off 374. Later in 2018, she became the first Australian to play 100 T20Is and also the first to take 100 wickets in T20Is. In the following year, she became the first to achieve the double of scoring 1000 runs and taking 100 wickets in the shortest format. To add to all of that, she won her third Women’s Ashes Player of the Series award in 2019.

Perry has been peerless and that much was confirmed when she swept three of the most prestigious ICC awards - The ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade, the Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade and the Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade in 2020. By now a seasoned professional and a senior in the side, Perry continued to be absolutely integral not just to the Australian side but also to the various franchises she represented.

As of 2025, Perry had won two Women’s World Cups, six Women’s T20 World Cups and a Commonwealth Games Gold along with two BBL titles and a WPL title at the franchise level. It goes without saying, Ellyse Perry is simply the best.

By Anurag Hegde