Ellyse Perry double international: In the modern era, it is extremely rare to find double internationals. these days cricketers are calling for a reduction in work load to rest tired bodies, given the exponential increase in the number of playing days, but Ellyse Perry lot more different she is stands out. For some, playing one World Cup could be a dream come true, but for Ellyse Perry, who holds the distinction of being the first Australian woman to have represented Astralia at World Cups in two different sports (cricket and football), it is more than just a dream. Ellyse Perry became the youngest Australian in international cricket when she made her debut in July 2007 aged 16. Just one month later, she was picked in the Australian women’s football team for the 2008 Olympic qualifiers, where she scored a goal within two minutes of her appearance in Ground on her debut against Hong Kong. Six years on, she is now a contracted player in the Australian women’s cricket team and is playing in her second Cricket World Cup, besides having represented Australia at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She also plays for Sydney FC in the Women’s Football League.
Perry has already proved her worth in the ongoing World Cup with an allround performance in the group stages against South Africa. She has been a part of the team that has won two Consictive ICC World Twenty20 Tournaments, in 2010 and 2012, but the hunger to constantly reinvent herself and add new dimensions to her training methods has seen her emerge as an ideal role model for women’s sport not just in Australia but across the world.But Perry feels that even if that idea takes time to be explored by cricket boards, small steps, like having the men and women play T20 games at the same venue on the same day on a regular basis, would help. “Make it an annual feature rather than restricting it to the World T20 alone would be great,” she says. The last two editions of the ICC World T20 in West Indies and Sri Lanka have seen that idea becoming a reality, and Perry feels that has just increased the appeal of the women’s game. “One of the best examples of promoting the game has come with the decision to have the women’s game alongside the men’s at least as far as the T20 World Cup is concerned. That has helped increase awareness. I think that presents a great opportunity in terms of having double-headers more often. If the same is implemented in the Big Bash League or the IPL, it would be great.”
At 22, clearly bigger things are in store for Perry, among the fastest bowlers in the women’s game today. With two World titles already under her belt, winning the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 could be the perfect gift to a multi-faceted sportsperson whose decision to invest her youth in active sport has been an inspiration for youngsters wanting to make a career in sport.