Ellyse Perry has further cemented herself as one of the most uniquely gifted and accomplished athletes of all time, smashing an unbeaten double century to become Australia’s highest female run scorer.
The 27-year-old from Sydney’s North Shore bashed an 213 not out from 374 balls including 27 fours against England in the first test of the Women’s Ashes, the highest individual score by an Australian woman and the third highest ever by a female player.
She is a dual-sport icon and regularly lauded for her versatility, but the term devalues her true stature as a superstar for both the nation’s cricket and football teams.
Perry smashed in an absolute screamer in the 2011 World Cup quarter-finals for the Matildas, the highlight of an 18-match career that has been suspended due to her commitment to the bat and ball.
That focus has paid dividends, as her test batting average of 61.71 now ranks third all-time, while her bowling average of 16.76 astonishingly sits 12th.
Ellyse Perry has further cemented herself as one of the most uniquely gifted and accomplished athletes of all time, smashing an unbeaten double century
The 27-year-old from Sydney’s North Shore bashed an 213 not out from 374 balls including 27 fours against England in the first test of the Women’s Ashes
She is a dual-sport icon and regularly lauded for her versatility, but the term devalues her true stature as a superstar for both the nation’s cricket and football teams
Perry brought up the double hundred on day three of the first test at North Sydney Oval on Friday night, the first day-night women’s test match, but not until after a brief moment of confusion.
Sitting on 194, she blasted a lofted shot over mid-on which the umpires, players and fans thought had gone for six. Perry began celebrating and hugging her teammate before the shot was changed to a four.
The 27-year-old took it all in stride and laughed off the mix-up, before driving the ball past the bowler for four runs to secure the milestone one over later.
Australia declared at 9/448, leaving Perry one run behind Mithali Raj for the second highest score by a woman.
‘It was fun, I think that’s probably the best way to describe it,’ Perry said.
‘I had an amazing time out there today batting with all the girls and just taking in what was such a special day – the crowd attendance, it being the pink day, day three, just a really great event for women’s cricket.’
Sitting on 194, she blasted a lofted shot over mid-on which the umpires thought had gone for six. Perry began celebrating and hugging her teammate before the shot was changed to a four
The 27-year-old took it all in stride and laughed off the mix-up, before driving the ball past the bowler for four runs to secure the milestone one over later
‘It was fun, I think that’s probably the best way to describe it,’ Perry said
Perry married longtime boyfriend and former Wallabies flyhalf Matt Toomua in 2015
Perry married longtime boyfriend and former Wallabies flyhalf Matt Toomua in 2015. He is currently playing for Leicester in the European Premiership Rugby competition, meaning the two gifted athletes do not spend a lot of time together.
‘We’ve got plenty of years to get sick of each other later on in life,’ Toomua told The Guardian.
‘We’re in a special time now in terms of opportunity. If we didn’t take it, we’d be pretty disappointed later on.’