Big Bash League:<\/b> Nearly two decades after she first played for Australia as a 16-year-old, premier all-rounder Ellyse Perry said she still goes into every day trying to be a better player than she was the day before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ellyse, 35, is now in her 20th season of playing professional cricket. She marked its start by hitting 58, a knock that anchored the Sydney Sixers chase in their last-ball win over the Brisbane Heat in the Women\u2019s Big Bash League (WBBL) opener at the Allan Border Field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI just like to be a better version than what I am today, and that\u2019s a challenge every day. That\u2019s 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,\u201d Ellyse was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ellyse was named the ICC women\u2019s cricketer of the decade for 2011 to 2020 and has won the World Player of the Year award thrice. She was the first cricketer, male or female, to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is, and she has more than 3,000 runs and over 150 wickets in ODIs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked how she stays hungry after so many years, the dual international, who also played for the Matildas at the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup, said the younger players around her keep pushing her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s pretty easy because there\u2019s so many great players around that it\u2019s pretty hard to keep up most of the time. 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\u2019re a part of - and I love that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI also love just being fit and active and healthy and being a professional sportsperson kind of leads to that. So I don\u2019t have any special kind of goals or secrets or anything like that. Just amazing amount of support and I\u2019m just fortunate,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Her routine has barely changed since her teenage years. Ellyse, who will turn out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2027 WPL, said she still spends as much time in the nets as she did when she was dreaming of wearing the Australian colours, and that batting practice gives her a rare moment of calm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBatting for me, especially in the nets, is probably a little bit like meditation in a way. You don\u2019t have your phone attached to you. You\u2019re sort of down there by yourself just hitting balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo I really enjoy that. I just love training with the girls as well. Like bowling in the nets or out on the field, it\u2019s great fun. And cricket\u2019s the summer sport too, so you get to do it under the Australian sun, which is pretty nice,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBatting for me, especially in the nets, is probably a little bit like meditation in a way. You don\u2019t have your phone attached to you. You\u2019re sort of down there by yourself just hitting balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n