CHENNAI: Ellyse Perry was once asked what she would like to be remembered as — the footballer or the cricketer. "Perry the Person, hopefully," came the reply from her. With the Australian legend playing in her 300th international fixture — which she won for her country with an unbeaten 21-ball 34 as the visitors levelled the series against India 1-1 — at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, she has added another accolade to her illustrious career.
Her individual on-field success has paralleled one of the most dominant eras of arguably one of the most dominant teams the game has ever seen. However, glimpses of her generosity has shown the person behind all the laurels she has received.
Take this for example. Ahead of the Bushfire Appeal, a charity T10 match to raise funds for those affected by the devastating bushfires of 2019-20 in Australia, Perry requested Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar to face an over from her to raise additional money for the cause. Tendulkar, who had retired from international cricket in 2013, agreed. On the day of the match, amongst the biggest fanfare at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, Tendulkar faced Perry wearing a canary yellow kit as teammates and a few firefighters joined in the fielding. For cricket lovers all over the world, it was a treat to watch two icons of the game face off.
Fox Cricket commentator Mark Howard gave words to what all the fans were thinking. "We are in the middle of the Junction Oval, watching Ellyse Perry bowl to Sachin Tendulkar. On what planet does that happen." However, after bowling four balls, Perry did something that even shocked the commentators. For the final two balls of the over, Perry handed it to Annabel Sutherland, who had made her international debut just a few days earlier. "I passed it to Belsey (Sutherland) as a youth of today's policy. I think it might make her day," Perry told the commentators. Nervous Sutherland bowled a full toss to start with, and the magnificent over for cricket fans across the world ended with Tendulkar punching the ball down the ground on the final delivery.
We'll be celebrating one of the greats in Mumbai tonight! Congratulations on an incredible milestone and thank you for everything you do for our sport, @EllysePerry pic.twitter.com/COXqEWvccu
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) January 6, 2024Perry could have easily bowled every single delivery, but she chose to make someone else's day. She was generous enough to let someone be part of the bigger stage. "I think Pez had bowled four balls and turned to me and threw me the ball which was very kind of her. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life," Sutherland would later tell the media.
A year later, in 2021, amidst all the COVID-19 restrictions, India visited Australia for a multi-format series that included a day-night Test in Queensland. Sutherland, along with Stella Campbell, Georgia Wareham, and Darcie Brown received their baggy green caps in the same Test. On day three of the match, with the dismissal of Pooja Vastrakar, Perry achieved her 300th international wicket. She joined the prestigious list of Jhulan Goswami and Katherine Brunt who have 300+ wickets in international cricket. As the tradition goes, umpire Phillip Gillespie handed the match ball to wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy to hand it over to Perry as a keepsake.
Healy later revealed what Perry had to say about keeping the match ball: "When Phil the umpire threw me the ball at the end of the innings I said 'Pez do you want it? It was your 300th wicket.' But she said 'Give it to Stella. It was her first.'" That's who Perry is. A human with exceptional sporting abilities unmatched by any and a heart of gold. Her teammates may have closely experienced this generosity, but stories such as these make her one of the most beloved athletes in the world.
Sheer numbers of her on-field achievements make her one of the greatest to ever play the game. Curiosity about how she has been doing it over these years will always remain the same even after almost 17 years of international career, but moments like these make her human.
And that is how she would want to be remembered. Perry — the human.
