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Perry could play as a batter only in international return

Still recovering from hamstring surgery, Australia's star player is mindful of going 'too hard, too soon' in their series against New Zealand in Brisbane

Star allrounder Ellyse Perry could play as a batter only against New Zealand later this month in her comeback from a serious hamstring injury.

Perry says there's "a very real possibility" she’ll be fit to play in Australia's series opener against the White Ferns on September 26, their first match since their World Cup final win in March.

But she’s also tempered expectations that she’ll be at full capacity for the entire six-match campaign, flagging that she's likely to miss some games as she and the Australian side carefully manage her return to action after an absence of more than six months.

The trans-Tasman rivals will play three T20s and three ODIs in just 12 days and with a full Rebel Women's Big Bash League campaign to start in late October, Perry says she's wary of pushing herself "too hard, too soon".

"If I'm on the field, I don't need holding back," she said on Tuesday from the team's hub in Brisbane, where some of Australia's squad members are currently in quarantine.

"If I'm playing, I want to be fully fit and be able to play in the way I always play.

"It's more just about managing the frequency of matches that I play in this series because … it's quite condensed and games are fairly close together.

"It might not be possible or sensible to play all those games, but hopefully there's an opportunity where I'm able to play in some of them.

"It's a few weeks away so there's a couple of things to tick off, so it's more about managing how many games rather than the intensity I play at."

Perry has been unrestricted with both batting and bowling at training in recent weeks, but says she's open to playing as a batter only if bowling is deemed too much of a risk.

Australia's extended 18-player squad features seven allrounders as well as Perry, meaning there would likely be multiple bowling options in the side even if the 29-year-old is prevented from bowling.

"It's probably something I'll re-assess in the next couple of weeks," she said.

"Certainly my preference is to play as an allrounder. That's who I am as a player, that's always been my role in the side and I don't want to upset the dynamics of the group if I can help it because it gives us an option when I'm playing as an allrounder.

"That's probably a call we'll make in the next couple of weeks. But I very much want to be involved in both batting and bowling and hopefully that transpires."

Perry and 10 of her Australian teammates arrived in Brisbane on Sunday to commence a two-week period of quarantine in Queensland before the series begins.

Players based in Victoria, NSW and the ACT are required to complete the quarantine period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while New Zealand's entire squad – who arrive in Brisbane on Wednesday – will also serve two weeks in quarantine.

Players from both teams will train separately at the National Cricket Centre during their two weeks of quarantine but are otherwise unable to leave the floor of their hotel.

Perry, one of six Victorians who have already been living under the harshest restrictions in the country, said the team are settling in well despite the unusual preparation.

"It's been great, actually," she said. "Especially for the girls who are from Victoria, it's probably not too dissimilar to the regulations that we've been under for a little while now.

"But certainly having the chance to see each other now, to train together during the day, in a way it kind of feels like a big school camp because we spend all our time on the hotel floor or at training. We're always with one another."

Australia's players from other states will arrive in Brisbane on September 20 once the quarantine period for their NSW, Victoria and ACT teammates is over.

CommBank T20I and ODI series

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry*, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa *subject to fitness

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Natalie Dodd, Deanna Doughty, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jenson, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin

All matches to be played at Brisbane's Allan Border Field, times TBC

September 26: First T20 

September 27: Second T20

September 30: Third T20

October 3: First ODI

October 5: Second ODI

October 7: Third ODI