Ellyse PerryHaving started her career back in 2007,Ellyse Perry stands at the cusp of a record 300th appearance in the women’s game. Before her, three other women have achieved this landmark. India’s Mithali Raj (333) and England’s Charlotte Edwards (309), both retired from the international game, along with current New Zealand international, Suzie Bates (309) have reached this feat before her.

The all-rounder has had a phenomenal run in international cricket, having excelled in both departments over the years. She has 925 Test runs at an average of 66, and 38 Test wickets at 21.28. In ODIs, the prolific player has scored 3852 runs at 51.36 and has 162 wickets at 25.24. In the shortest format of international cricket, Perry has 1774 runs at 32.25 and 123 wickets at 18.93.

These numbers are in themselves a reflection of Perry’s immense impact on the women’s game. Ahead of this rare landmark, we bring to life a selection of her very best performances across formats.

Test

Ellyse Perry 71 and 31, 3/41 and 5/38 vs England in Perth, 2014

Ellyse Perry headlined in the only Test of the multi-format Ashes Down Under. Bowling first, Perry led the charge along with her new ball partner, Rene Farrell. The duo shared seven wickets, with Perry accounting for three England batters.

This helped restrict the tourists to 201, but they struck back with the ball and reduced Australia to 37/5. Coming in at number 7, Perry fought back with a sturdy 71, hitting 10 fours in her knock to take the Aussies to a slender lead.

However, Perry’s best in the game came in the third innings. She picked up her first five-wicket haul (5/38) even as England were bundled out for 190.

While England regrouped in the fourth innings and struck back with the ball, Perry showed her excellence once more, being the highest run-getter for Australia with a resilient 31. Though the hosts lost the Test, Perry won the Player of the Match award for her fine performances throughout the game.

3/59 and 0/26, 213 vs England in North Sydney, 2017*

After England opted to bat in the first innings, Ellyse Perryshined with the ball and struck thrice in a tidy display with the ball.

With England bowled out, Perry took over with the bat. Coming in at 54/2, she saw her side struggle further, losing Alex Blackwell and Elyse Villani before the team had reached 100. However, Perry had already set in and laid the foundation for an epic knock. She scored 213* in an innings in which no other Australia batter passed fifty.

This was the third-highest score in women’s Tests and the highest ever for an Australia batter. She hit 27 fours and a six in her mammoth knock. Australia finished with a solid lead of 168 and dominated in a drawn Test.

ODI

Ellyse Perry

7/22 vs England in Canterbury, 2019

Ellyse  Perry’s 7/22 are the best bowling figures for Australia in women’s ODIs and the fourth best on the all-time list.

These remarkable figures came in the third Ashes ODI during the 2019 series. The first two ODIs of the multi-format Ashes had been close wins for Australia, with Perry contributing in both encounters, winning even the Player of the Match in the first game. However, it was in the third ODI that the all-rounder truly stood out.

Though she failed to get going with the bat, Alyssa Healy (68) and Meg Lanning (69) helped Australia put up a formidable total. It was all Perry with the ball after that, as she ran through the England lineup and confined them to 75.

A comfortable win helped Australia whitewash the series in yet another successful outing in England.

25, 3/19 vs West Indies in Mumbai, 2013*

Perry showed that special players can perform even in the toughest of circumstances, in what was a remarkable performance in yet another Australian World Cup triumph.

The player had been battling fitness concerns throughout the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2013 in India. She featured in merely three games before the final and played the landmark fixture while in the pain of a stress fracture to her left ankle.

This didn’t prevent her from smashing a brisk 25* from 22 at number nine to lift Australia to 259/7 at the end of their innings. The all-rounder then overcame her injury to deliver a scintillating 3/19 with the ball.

She scythed through the West Indies top-order and put their chase off track. The Caribbean side never recovered from this early onslaught and lost the game by 114 runs.

T20I

3/18 v New Zealand in Bridgetown, 2010

It was Perry to Australia’s rescue in yet another tournament final. Australia batted first and scored 106/8 on a sluggish wicket. Perry didn’t have an opportunity with the willow but soon showed her worth with the ball. She struck with the important wickets of Suzie Bates, Amy Satterthwaite, and Nicola Browne.

Sophie Devine kept the Kiwi fight alive. The equation came down to 14 off six. Perry bowled the final over, and Devine managed four consecutive twos, to bring it down to five off one. A four was needed to secure a tie, and Devine executed a straight drive to perfection.

However, Perry quickly obstructed the fiery shot with her leg, and the ball went straight to mid-on. Devine could secure only a single, and Australia won a stunning game by a mere three runs.

72 vs India in Mumbai, 2022*

Perry hadn’t been at her finest, and it showed especially in the T20I format. Having been consigned to amongst the reserves in the Commonwealth Games 2022 a few months back, Perry’s T20 future seemed to be in peril.

However, the player hit solid form against India at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai where she hit 75 runs from 47 in a formidable win for her side in the third T20I. In the very next game, she struck yet another blazing fifty as if to prove that the first innings wasn’t a mere fluke.

Perry hit 72* from 42 balls with seven fours and four sixes to her name helping Australia to 188/3, which proved to be a winning total for the side. The all-rounder was well and truly back in the T20 side after that.