Ellyse Perry addressed the media after the extension announcement of her two-year deal with Sydney Sixers. During the interview, she also talked about other things including her teammate Meg Lanning.
Perry talked about her Australian Captain, Meg Lanning who went on a break from cricket just after winning gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. She returned from her mental health break to lead Australia to their sixth T20 World Cup title. After that, she played in the Women’s Premier League where she pioneered Delhi Capitals in their runner-up journey. Just four weeks before the Ashes, Lanning pulled out from the squad citing health issues.
“I don’t have anything concrete around Meg, other than I see Meg around. She’s got the full support of the playing squad and all her teammates at Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia. From Meg’s point of view, she’ll keep tracking hopefully really well and hopefully be available for cricket if and when she wants to be,” said Perry.
The ICC player of the decade also touched upon the recent Ashes. It was a historic one with around 110,000 tickets sold. The series witnessed a remarkable comeback from England, they drew the series even after being six-nil down. The Australian allrounder acknowledged the recent success of women’s cricket and her desire to be involved in the game.
“It’s pure speculation to know what happens in a couple of years but from my perspective, I still love being involved, in a lot of senses, it’s (women’s sport) arrived and things just become more and more exciting every year. After our Ashes campaign in the UK and the way that that was followed, the crowd numbers that we drew, the level of competition that it presented – it’s hard not to want to be involved for as long as possible,” continued Perry.
Ellyse Perry confirms that captain Meg Lanning is tracking “really well” 😍
Great news for all the fans. 👏#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/AuwzVD7XTA
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 10, 2023
The seasoned allrounder had a wonderful outing in the Ashes as she scored over 400 runs across the three formats. After the English assignment, the Aussies went to witness the Irish hospitality. In the second ODI against Ireland, Perry scored a match-winning 91 off 99 deliveries. Before the third ODI, she was ruled out from the series as well as the upcoming The Hundred tournament due to a knee injury.
“I’ve been doing some rehab for the last couple of weeks and it’s tracking well, it was a real bummer to miss out on The Hundred, particularly off the back of The Ashes and just the momentum being built around cricket over there. But it’s been nice to be home. I’ve had a great chance to work with (Australian fast bowling coach) Scotty Prestwidge to tweak a few things,” added Perry.
West Indies will tour Australia from 1st October and just after that, the WBBL will get going with the Sydney Sixers taking the field against Melbourne Stars in the opening fixture.
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