Just when it appears that Ellyse Perry has achieved everything in cricket, the legendary allrounder finds another way to level up.
Perry produced one of the finest innings of her T20 career against Pakistan at Headingley on Tuesday, a 48-ball 71 that was her first half-century at a T20 World Cup, and 10th in the format overall.
She followed up with two wickets from her sole over, becoming just the second woman to score 70-plus and take two or more wickets in a T20 World Cup game, joining South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp who became the first to achieve the just feat two days earlier.
It was Perry’s highest T20I score since December 2022, and the fourth 70-plus knock of her 121-innings career.
So far in this tournament, Perry is averaging 42.33 at a strike rate of 138.04 with the bat and her four wickets have come at an average of 5.75 with an identical economy rate.
It’s hardly an incisive observation to suggest Perry – arguably the greatest allrounder of all time – is critical to Australia’s fortunes at this World Cup.
Australia’s depth, however, means Perry has not been relied upon for success in recent years, and her returns with the bat in the 20 months since the 2024 T20 World Cup in the UAE have been solid without being dominant – she averaged 23 at a strike rate of 128 across 12 innings in that period.
With the ball, she bowled just five overs in 12 matches, and at times the ‘allrounder’ tag alongside her name appeared to be more of a call-back to past years, even if the indefatigable Perry never stopped honing her craft at training.
But as the 35-year-old has done throughout her career, she has lifted when the stakes have been highest.
Speaking after Australia’s 113-run win over Pakistan, Perry acknowledged her T20 batting had been the aspect of her game that had taken the longest to develop.
It was after she was dropped from the shortest format in early 2022 and spent the Commonwealth Games later the same year carrying drinks, that she unlocked a new T20 power game.
It is something Perry has been refining ever since, with a game that is now 360 on full display against Pakistan at Headingley.
“I’ve taken a while to kind of develop and really find the way that I want to play the game and contribute best to the group consistently,” Perry said of her T20 batting on Tuesday.
“I’m probably (still) not happy with it.
“I’d love to be evolving and developing … I guess one of the things that I love most about playing sport is the constant challenge of getting better, and sometimes that’s physical, and sometimes that’s like expanding your mind in the way that you think.
“And perhaps that has changed a lot over the years, as I hope it would for anyone that’s been here for that long – you don’t want to be the same person when you finish to where you start.
“(I’m) just thinking about things differently, finding different ways to improve, and also I guess different inspiration that comes from outside sport as well.”
On Tuesday, Perry’s 2-9 also saw her move clear of England great Katherine Sciver-Brunt on the all-time all-format wickets table, with Perry’s career tally now sitting at 336 (166 in ODIs, 131 in T20Is and 39 Test wickets).
Only India’s Jhulan Goswami and Deepti Sharma – the latter having joined the former on 355 wickets last week – are above her.
Speaking at Headingley, Perry was typically keen to push the spotlight onto her teammates, emphasising Australia’s range of contributors across their four wins thus far, while also highlighting the need to continue on their momentum into Sunday’s blockbuster match against India and the knockouts beyond that.
“I think we are just really enjoying it, to be honest, every game has been a different challenge,” she said.
“It was really important for us to start the way that we did in Manchester against South Africa, and that’s given us a really good platform.
“But in any tournament it really matters more how you finish.
“Along the way, I think we’ve had different experiences, different challenges, and one of the coolest parts is I think is everyone has played a role at some point and really cherished that role and enjoyed it.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next week or so, but the fact that we’re just going out there and doing everything we can to play the style of cricket we want to … we’re all enjoying that.”
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: beat Netherlands by 98 runs
June 24: beat Pakistan by 113 runs
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
