The Australian women’s team booked their place in yet another semi-finals of the ICC World T20 competition as they edged past their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by a narrow margin in the virtual quarter-finals fixture at Junction Oval on Monday.
However, their win came at a great cost as they lost the services of their star all-rounder Elysee Perry, who cannot participate further in the tournament after sustaining a high-grade hamstring injury.
The defending champions believe that their seasoned campaigner, Perry, can still offer lots for the team with her presence in the side, owing to her experience.
Perry has made an appearance in all T20I matches for Australia, since the inception of the tournament in 2009. Furthermore, she has been part of all four world-cup winning campaigns in their glorious cricketing history.
“She will definitely have a part to play. Her experience around World Cups and the person that she is, she is already a real strong leader in our group,” coach Matthew Mott reckons.
Perry’s fitness before the clash against White Ferns remained debatable as she already had issues with her hips.
“I think she will take that up a level. She will be a big part of our bowling planning meetings – which she already is, but she will take a lot of responsibility for that. I think she will relish that, being busy and being helpful where she can.” Mott stated, according to cricket.com.au
The marquee Australian all-rounder sustained the injury while fielding during the Kiwi chase. Placed at mid-on, Perry tried to dismiss Sophie Devine off a throw while off-balance. She immediately left the field and went for her diagnosis.
“I’m devastated for her personally. She would have spent the last year getting her head around trying to perform for this World Cup. Credit to her, she is a gutsy player. “She’s processed it well, but she’s going to go through some tough times over the next few weeks,” concluded the Australian coach.
