Unbeatable Perry takes her game to new heights

The date was July 19, 2019. 

Ellyse Perry chipped a low full toss from off-spinner Laura Marsh to England captain Heather Knight, ending a brilliant Test knock of 116 in rather tame fashion during the first innings of the one-off women’s Ashes Test in Taunton.

The Australian allrounder hasn’t been dismissed in international cricket since.

Through 432 balls of international cricket faced across all three formats, Perry has scored 368 runs in seven innings, with neither England nor West Indies able to break through her defence since. 

In the second innings of that Test in Taunton, Perry finished unbeaten on 76 when Australia declared their second innings.

In the three T20Is against England that followed, the 28-year-old made the most of her promotion into the top four, hitting 60no, 47no and 7no.

She’s carried that form to the Caribbean, where she was unbeaten on 33 in the first one-dayer in Antigua – when centuries to captain Meg Lanning and opener Alyssa Healy meant she only came to the crease in the 39th over – before she backed it up with her second ODI century just three days later, scoring 112no.

When Australia successfully chased down their target of 181 in the series finale, Perry was still at the crease on 33.

Her run of undefeated innings will be put to the test on Saturday when Australia commence the T20 leg of their limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, with the first of three T20s at Kensington Oval.

"She’s pretty phenomenal, she’s been a world-class player with bat and ball," Australia allrounder Jess Jonassen said from Barbados on Friday.

"She puts a high price on her wicket and that shows with the amount of not outs she’s had." 

Perry is just two runs shy of becoming the fifth Australian woman to pass 3,000 ODI runs – a milestone she’ll no doubt reach when Australia host Sri Lanka in three one-dayers in Brisbane next month.

The newly minted Victorian – who jokingly told cricket.com.au in Antigua last week that she sleeps with her bat alongside her, so closely attached are they – continues to find new levels to her game with both bat and ball.

Just this week, she came only the third woman to take 150 ODI wickets, joining an exclusive club featuring Australian great Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Indian legend Jhulan Goswami.

She’s always taken more international wickets than any other Australian woman and is rapidly closing in on the 300-mark, with 284 scalps to her name.

Australia and West Indies will meet in the first of three T20Is at Kensington Oval on Saturday at 7pm local time (9am Sunday AEST).

Fans in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea can stream the series live and free on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App, while fans elsewhere can watch on the West Indies Cricket YouTube channel.

CommBank Tour of the West Indies

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Heather Graham, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

West Indies ODI squad: Stafanie Taylor (c), Hayley Matthews (vc), Reniece Boyce, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Shamilia Connell, Stacy Ann King, Natasha McLean, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Anisa Mohammed, Karishma Ramharack, Shabika Gajnabi

One-Day Internationals*
*ICC Women's Championship matches

First ODI: Australia won by 178 runs

Second ODI: Australia won by 151 runs

September 11: Third ODI, Australia won by eight wickets

Twenty20 Internationals

September 14: First T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

September 16: Second T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

September 18: Third T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados