Ind vs Aus 2023-24 – Ellyse Perry reaches 300 not out for Australia, open to 400

The allrounder will become the first Australian woman to make 300 international appearances when India host the second match in the teams’ T20I series in Mumbai on Sunday.

Perry is an all-time great of Australian sport and key to the ongoing success of the national women’s team. Asked whether reaching 400 games is a goal, Perry said she had set no ceiling on her playing career.

“I don’t know what’s in store …but if it’s meant to be down the track and I’m still around playing …I’m really open to what happens,” she said from India. “I don’t have a set time frame on it. Either way it doesn’t really matter, it’s just another number.

“For as long as I can contribute to the team and it’s something I find really motivating and enjoyable, I’d love to be here.”

Perry was left out of Australia’s T20I team early in 2022, but reshaped her game to return as an integral player.

The 33-year-old has also bowled less since a serious hamstring injury during the 2020 World Cup. The key for Perry individually, and for the all-powerful Australia team, is to keep evolving.

“It’s a great time for us, of evolution. You’ve seen a lot of that in the way that Phoebe Litchfield has performed in those one-day matches; Annabel Sutherland, her last 12 months,” Perry said.

“That’s something we’re incredibly conscious of – [to] maintain the success we’ve had, but equally evolve that, to look a little bit different in the way the team plays. The game is moving at such a rapid pace. There’s a new environment. In a lot of ways the sky’s the limit in terms of where it can go.”

Perry paid tribute to her family, saying she relishes still having net sessions with her dad Mark.

“Every time, he bowls me. In general terms, Dad will always have my measure,” she said.

Perry has been a key figure in the rapid rise of women’s cricket, which attracted 86,000 fans to the MCG to watch Australia win the 2020 World Cup final.

“My first game in Darwin, there were probably about 30 people,” she said, recalling her 2007 debut. “It continues to blow my socks off when stuff like that happens, which has been a true privilege.”