Ellyse Perry's opening night half-century for the Sydney Sixers set the tone for a remarkable 20th season in the sport
'I can be better': Perry's insatiable quest for self-improvement
She's already one of cricket's greatest of all time, but Ellyse Perry has outlined her intentions to take her game to remarkable new levels in a mind-blowing 20th summer season.
Displaying the drive, genius, longevity and work ethic of tennis great Roger Federer, Perry retains the same insatiable appetite for success at age 35 as when she first wore the Australian colours as a 16-year-old prodigy in 2007.
"I just like to be a better version than what I am today, and that's a challenge every day," the superstar allrounder said ahead of her Sydney Sixers' opening match of the WBBL season on Sunday night.
"That's really fun to take on and you learn lots as you go so, yeah, hopefully if or whenever I finish playing, I can be a better player than what I was when I started, that will be awesome."
Awesome indeed - and also a frightening prospect for her rivals.
With way too many accolades to list, including being named the ICC women's cricketer of the decade for 2011 to 2020 and three-time world player of the year, Perry says there's no great secret behind her unwavering hunger.
"Oh, it's pretty easy because there's so many great players around that it's pretty hard to keep up most of the time," said the dual international who also represented the Matildas at a soccer World Cup.
"The creativity (among the younger players) is phenomenal and just seeing that is motivation in itself to try and keep pace, but also try and continue to contribute to whatever teams you're a part of - and I love that.
"I also love just being fit and active and healthy and being a professional sportsperson kind of leads to that.
"So I don't have any special kind of goals or secrets or anything like that. Just amazing amount of support and I'm just fortunate."
Perry also revealed she's spending just as much time these days in the nets, batting and bowling, as when she was a wide-eyed teenager dreaming of one day wearing the national colours.
"Batting for me, especially in the nets, is probably a little bit like meditation in a way. You don't have your phone attached to you. You're sort of down there by yourself just hitting balls," she said.
"So I really enjoy that. I just love training with the girls as well. Like bowling in the nets or out on the field, it's great fun.
"And cricket's the summer sport too, so you get to do it under the Australian sun, which is pretty nice."
The first player - male or female - to achieve the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in T20 internationals, as well as more than 3000 runs and 150-plus wickets in ODIs, Perry and the Sixers play their first home match of Weber WBBL|12 against the defending champions Hobart Hurricanes at Drummoyne Oval on Sunday evening.
Weber WBBL|12 Standings
Round 1
| Team | M | W | L | T | D | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SCO
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.422 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
2
THU
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.335 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
3
STR
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
4
SIX
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
5
STA
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.075 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
6
HEA
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
HUR
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
REN
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.265 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points