Ellyse Perry's powerful response after $279,000 payday in WPL auction

Australian cricketer Ellyse Perry says the unprecedented money on offer in the newly formed Women's Premier League in India was a secondary factor behind what she views as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further women's sport. Perry was the third-highest valued Australian player in the recent WPL auction, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore bidding $297,000 for her services in the competition's inaugural season.

A return to the top flight of T20 cricket looked a long way from reality for Perry in 2020, when she suffered a serious hamstring injury during that year's Women's T20 World Cup. The extended time it took for her to fully recover from the injury eventually lead to her being dropped from Australia's T20 side in a stunning turn of events.

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More power and a higher strike rate were at the top of selectors' wish list for Perry - and the 32-year-old accomplished both in typically dominant fashion. She went from being viewed as a T20 outsider for Australia to an obvious selection after a starring role in the WBBL last year.

The Perry of old was present once again as she crushed the WBBL competition, all but guaranteeing a return to the Australian T20 side. Now with an added layer of financial security thanks to the WPL, Perry said it was exciting to focus on growing the game for other women.

“I’ve been really fortunate to have experiences for a number of years now with this group and just the changing nature of the sport and the way that it’s been evolving,” she said at the Women's T20 World Cup, following Australia's win over Bangladesh in the group stage.

“In a lot of ways, I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of the last couple of years. I think it’s sort of pushed me to kind of change the way that I’ve done things or find new ways to do things and evolve a little bit. So, from a personal perspective, it’s always awesome to be here.

“I don’t think any of us ever led the conversation in terms of monetary value. I think there’s something at play that’s much bigger than that. Of course, remuneration and the chance to earn that kind of money is wonderful, but much larger than that I think is just the general growth of the sport right around the world.

“And I think now that women are starting to have a really strong presence in the Indian sort of market and also in the Indian game, that is so much more important than any kind of dollar value that is placed on any player."

Ellyse Perry, Australia look to further undefeated World Cup run

Perry and Australia are set to face Sri Lanka next at the World Cup in South Africa. Both sides have won two matches in the tournament but Australia went ahead of the Sri Lankans at the top of the group table on net run-rate after their eight-wicket win over Bangladesh on Tuesday.

But even though Sri Lanka have never won a match against them, Perry knows Australia can't afford to take Chamari Athapaththu's side lightly. In T20Is, Sri Lanka had suffered heavy defeats in their first five encounters, until a closer affair at the sixth attempt when they last met.

In that group-stage fixture during the 2020 T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka removed Australia's top three inside four overs for just 10 after setting them 123 to chase. The onus then fell on captain Meg Lanning and her recently retired deputy, Rachael Haynes, to resuscitate the innings before Australia eventually hobbled to a five-wicket win.

"In the 2020 World Cup, we did really good," said Athapaththu, who struck a fifty in that game. "We played good cricket against Australia, and in the last over, they won the match.

"This game is very crucial for both teams. We don't have any pressure because we are underdogs. Australia is a champion team, so they have pressure from their side but not for us."

Athapaththu remains the most potent threat facing Australia. In Sri Lanka's two wins so far, she was the player of the match against South Africa and took 2-19 to go with her 15 against Bangladesh.

"I think very much in Chamari style, so far," Perry said of Athapaththu's performance.

"We have had a really great sort of look at Chamari - whether that's been in international fixtures when she's playing for Sri Lanka or when she's playing at the WBBL. She is a tremendously threatening player, a lot of power, energy and passion for the game as well."

with AAP

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