Twenty seasons on, Ellyse Perry still wants to be ‘a better version’ of herself
Brisbane, Oct 31 (IANS) Nearly two decades after she first played for Australia as a 16-year-old, premier all-rounder Ellyse Perry said she still goes into every day trying to be a better player than she was the day before.
Ellyse, 35, is now in her 20th season of playing professional cricket. She marked its start by hitting 58, a knock that anchored the Sydney Sixers chase in their last-ball win over the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) opener at the Allan Border Field.
“I just like to be a better version than what I am today, and that’s a challenge every day. That’s really fun to take on and you learn lots as you go so, yeah, hopefully if or whenever I finish playing, I can be a better player than what I was when I started, that will be awesome,” Ellyse was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Saturday.
Ellyse was named the ICC women’s cricketer of the decade for 2011 to 2020 and has won the World Player of the Year award thrice. She was the first cricketer, male or female, to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is, and she has more than 3,000 runs and over 150 wickets in ODIs.
Asked how she stays hungry after so many years, the dual international, who also played for the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, said the younger players around her keep pushing her.
“Oh, it’s pretty easy because there’s so many great players around that it’s pretty hard to keep up most of the time. The creativity (among the younger players) is phenomenal and just seeing that is motivation in itself to try and keep pace, but also try and continue to contribute to whatever teams you’re a part of – and I love that.
“I also love just being fit and active and healthy and being a professional sportsperson kind of leads to that. So I don’t have any special kind of goals or secrets or anything like that. Just amazing amount of support and I’m just fortunate,” she added.
Her routine has barely changed since her teenage years. Ellyse, who will turn out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2027 WPL, said she still spends as much time in the nets as she did when she was dreaming of wearing the Australian colours, and that batting practice gives her a rare moment of calm.
“Batting for me, especially in the nets, is probably a little bit like meditation in a way. You don’t have your phone attached to you. You’re sort of down there by yourself just hitting balls.
“So I really enjoy that. I just love training with the girls as well. Like bowling in the nets or out on the field, it’s great fun. And cricket’s the summer sport too, so you get to do it under the Australian sun, which is pretty nice,” she added.
The Sixers will play their first home game of the ongoing WBBL season against defending champions Hobart Hurricanes at Drummoyne Oval on Sunday evening.
–IANS
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