Ellyse Perry produced one of the most complete performances by a player in WPL history when she broke the record books registering the best-ever figures (6/15) in the league’s short and then shepherded a tricky run chase with an unbeaten 40* off 38 in must-win game against Mumbai Indians. Add to that an impressive catch at square leg of Mumbai Indians’ opener, Hayley Matthews. You would be prompted to ask – is there anything that this superwoman can’t do?
The great Charlotte Edwards, now the Mumbai Indians Head Coach had called Perry ‘the greatest female player’ back in 2019 and reiterated it again after her team’s defeat to RCB. “She’s a wonderful cricketer, and I’ll still stand by what I said five years ago. She is the greatest player that I’ve seen play the game, with bat and ball, and in the field and as a person.”
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However, by her own high standards the 33-year-old had endured a very underwhelming WPL 2024 campaign up until that MI game in Delhi. In the six games prior, she had gone wicketless and had only one fifty plus score.
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Since making her WT20I debut in 2008, the 6/15 was only her second five-wicket haul in T20s. She bagged the first fifer only in November last year when she produced 5/22 in WBBL for Sydney Sixers against Melbourne Renegades. In 2023, she played 14 T20Is and scalped only six wickets (two against Pakistan and one apiece against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa and England).
Her bowling workload for the Australian side dipped drastically since 2021 due to the excess bowling resources in the national set-up. In the last three years, she appeared in only 14 of Australia’s 31 T20I matches, with the latest appearance being against South Africa in Canberra earlier this year. Perry then entered the WPL 2024 and remained wicketless. It seemed that she had lost her spark in the shortest format. But the hallmark of greats players is that they step up when it matters the most, and that is exactly what Perry did against defending champions MI.
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On March 12, she made a thumping comeback and showed why is she considered as the ‘Greatest of All Time’. She assessed the conditions and stuck to her basics to rip through the formidable MI batting attack. The six wickets she got were either bowled (4) or LBW (2). 22 of 24 deliveries were largely on or around the good length, the ideal length on slow Kotla strip and aided by a bit of moisture in the air, Perry exploited the conditions to the absolute hilt.
“Sometimes, I think I go years just getting walloped around the ground everywhere, and then every now and then it kind of goes my way. I’ve been working on it a little bit, especially with our coaches back home and kind of felt very suitable conditions for me tonight; the ball nipped around a little bit and it was really good fun,” said Perry after the match.
And it is that one quality of great players who find ways to get better and better and never rest on their laurels probably prompted RCB management to put their faith on the Australian, something skipper Smriti Mandhana also conceded after the match.
“I think just the kind of players (like Perry), I don’t think a game can make a player bad. In a game of cricket, anyone can get a hundred and anyone can get out on zero, especially in T20 cricket.
“For me, what’s important is the kind of work they put behind the scenes, and that for me as a captain is really important regardless of what we are doing on the field. If they are putting a lot of effort off the field, then they’re gonna come good, maybe today, tomorrow or maybe next tournament, you never know.”
But I just feel that as a captain, that’s something which you see in a player and the first thing that I see is their work ethics and the kind of work they put behind. So, on-field performance is just a part of it, that’s with everyone, you are the greatest cricketer so you will have bad days and good days but what you are behind is something as a captain I really look forward to.”
Edwards, the one-time leading run-scorer in the women’s cricket, also gave a bit of insight on why players like Perry continue to be successful for a prolonged period. “What I admire most about Ellyse is the fact that it doesn’t matter if she’s playing club cricket or WPL or international cricket, she plays it the same way, and that’s really highly commendable and something I absolutely love.”
With eight World Cup titles (six – T20Is, two – ODI), multiple Ashes’ records and a goal-scorer for the Matildas at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, it is fair enough to say that perhaps, there is nothing that Perry can’t do, but one more quality that great players like her possess – the insatiable appetite for success and come March 15 – the WPL 2024 Eliminator Day – Perry will most likely be at the forefront as RCB once again take one MI for a place in the final.