Across 49 T20 World Cup matches, Ellyse Perry has seen, won and achieved just about everything.
But the allrounder’s milestone 50th game will offer something new: Australia’s first ever women’s T20I match against the Netherlands.
Perry will bring up a half-century of T20 World Cup games in Southampton on Saturday, becoming the first player, male or female, to do so.
She is one of seven women who have played in all 10 editions of the tournament, and Australia’s success across that span, winning six titles and missing the final on just two occasions, have given her the edge over the other six in that cohort.
In all, Australia’s women have played 51 T20 World Cup games, with Perry only missing the 2020 semi-final and final with a hamstring injury.
And of those 49 Perry has played, Australia won 40.
To put that success into perspective, only three women have played more T20 World Cup games in total than Perry has won – Suzie Bates (42), Alyssa Healy (42) and Harmanpreet Kaur (41).
“It’s always just incredibly awesome to be a part of a World Cup, to be a part of an Australian team,” Perry said in Southampton on Friday.
“It’s a special team to play cricket for. I feel incredibly fortunate to have done it for a period of time, and I think certainly over the journey of T20 World Cups and, the experience that we’ve had at every single one of them, they’ve all been unique and different. I can’t believe I’ve played 50.”
The Netherlands will pose an unfamiliar challenge for Australia, having qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time in 2026 after the tournament was expanded to include 12 teams.
Perry is however familiar with their most credentialled squad member, Sterre Kalis who has an English domestic contract and who has played alongside the Australian at the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.
“We’ve been fortunate to watch them play a couple of games in this World Cup … (there’s) a couple of familiar faces in there, I’ve played with Kallis a little bit at Birmingham Phoenix, so I know her quite well, but they are definitely a bit of an unknown quantity for us as well,” she said on Friday.
“(It’s) a really good chance and challenge for us to make sure that we’re still playing the style of cricket that we wanted to be successful.
“The growth of the game is so important and looking at the horizon as well with the Olympics coming up, the more nations that we have playing cricket and also competing strongly is super important.
“It’s really nice to see strong competition right across both pools, I don’t think there’s an easy match.
“You’ve got to work exceptionally hard to scout well against teams that you haven’t played a lot against and the Netherlands are one of them for us.”
This World Cup was always set to be a steep learning curve for the Dutch team, who performed strongly at the global qualifying tournament in January to secure their ticket to the United Kingdom.
They claimed their first win over a full-member nation when they defeated Bangladesh in Edinburgh last month, but this tournament will see them meet the likes of top-ranked teams Australia, India and South Africa for the first time.
Speaking after the Netherlands’ 95-run loss to India last Saturday, coach Neil MacRae said his players would not shy away from the challenge against Australia.
“I think all you can ask of players when they are put out of their comfort zone to the extent they (were) against a well-built opposition is that they fight as hard as they can and they’re brave enough to come and show their skills, and I think certainly did that (against India),” MacRae said.
“Australia is obviously a massive test … (they’re) rightly ranked number one in the world and when we go to play Australia, we certainly will have that spirit.
“What the girls have had to overcome in terms of the challenges of being an associate nation and a minority sport in the Netherlands to actually reach a World Cup is an incredible achievement in itself, and it is purely down to the team spirit and the pride and gratitude of the Netherlands.
“We will need all of that against Australia, who are clearly a very strong outfit.”
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
Australia’s Group 1 fixtures
June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs
June 17: beat Bangladesh by nine wickets
June 20: v Netherlands, Rose Bowl, Hampshire, 7:30pm AEST
June 24: v Pakistan, Headingley, Leeds, 3:30am AEST
June 28: v India, Lord’s, London, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 1: The Oval, London, June 30, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 2: The Oval, London, July 2 (3:30am July 3 AEST)
Final: Lord’s, London, July 5, 11:30pm AEST
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
