Ellyse Perry: The World's Best Women's Cricketer
A complete guide to Ellyse Perry — Australia's dual international (cricket and football), 4,000+ Test runs, 150+ wickets, and widely regarded as the greatest women's cricketer of her generation.
Ellyse Perry is widely regarded as the greatest women's cricketer of her generation and, by some accounts, the finest women's cricketer the sport has ever produced. An exceptional right-arm fast bowler and elegant right-handed batsman, she represented Australia in both cricket and football (soccer) simultaneously, becoming one of only a handful of dual internationals in Australian sporting history. Her remarkable achievements across batting, bowling, and athleticism have placed her in a class above all contemporaries in the women's game.
Dual International: Cricket and Football
Born on 3 November 1990 in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Perry made her debut for the Australian women's football team (Matildas) aged 16 in 2007, and her debut for Australia's women's cricket team in the same year. She continued to represent both national teams simultaneously — an extraordinary feat at the highest level of two sports — before concentrating fully on cricket from 2014 onwards. Her sporting education across two codes gave her exceptional athleticism, fitness, and hand-eye coordination.
Batting Excellence and Test Records
Perry's batting is her most celebrated skill in recent years — a technically correct right-hander with an exceptional cover drive, a patient temperament for the long innings, and a strike rate in T20 cricket that delivers both stability and scoring at the top of the order. Her 213* not out against England in Women's Ashes Tests in 2017-18 in Canberra was the highest individual score in Women's Test cricket at the time — a magnificent innings of 523 minutes that demonstrated her ability to dominate the longest format. She has scored over 4,000 Women's Test runs.
Bowling and All-Round Impact
As a right-arm fast-medium bowler, Perry has taken over 150 Women's ODI wickets and over 60 Women's T20I wickets, consistently ranked among the world's elite. Her action is economical and aggressive, generating carry and late movement. In Women's Test cricket she has also taken significant wickets, with match hauls that reflect her ability to contribute equally with bat and ball. The International Cricket Council has ranked her as the No. 1 women's all-rounder on multiple occasions.
World Cup and ICC Trophies
Perry has won the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup (2013, 2022), the ICC Women's T20 World Cup (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023), and multiple Women's Ashes series. The breadth of her trophies reflects Australia's dominance in women's cricket throughout the 2010s and 2020s, a period in which Perry was their central figure. She was named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2019. The 2020 T20 World Cup final — played at the MCG before 86,174 spectators — is the most-attended women's sporting event in Australia's history.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Ellyse Perry considered the greatest women's cricketer?
Ellyse Perry is considered the greatest women's cricketer of her generation because she excels as both a batsman and a fast bowler at the highest level simultaneously. She holds records in Women's Tests, has won multiple World Cups, has been ranked No. 1 as an all-rounder by the ICC, and has done all of this while representing two different sports at international level.
What is Ellyse Perry's highest Test score?
Ellyse Perry's highest Women's Test score is 213* not out against England at Manuka Oval, Canberra, scored during the 2017-18 Women's Ashes series. At the time it was the highest individual score in Women's Test cricket history. She batted for 8 hours 43 minutes.
Did Ellyse Perry play football for Australia?
Yes. Ellyse Perry represented Australia's senior women's football team (the Matildas) from 2007, making her debut aged 16. She continued playing both cricket and football for Australia simultaneously until 2014, when she retired from football to concentrate on cricket. She is one of a very small number of dual international representatives in Australian sporting history.