Stats show Perry is among all-time greats

Ellyse Perry's record-breaking Ashes knock of 213 not out has further pushed the case that she is one of the greatest allrounders cricket has seen.

Ellyse Perry after scoring 200 for Australia.

Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 213 was just the latest extraordinary number for the 27-year-old allrounder. (AAP)

Ellyse Perry could be the greatest allrounder Test cricket has ever seen.

Perry rewrote the record books against England on Saturday, amassing the highest ever score by an Australian woman in a Test match as she finished on 213 not out.

Perry's Ashes knock was also the third highest of any player in women's Test history, the highest unbeaten total and also the highest on Australian soil.

But, in reality, Saturday's runfest, which helped Australia to a mammoth 9-448 declared, was just another step in the evolution of the 27-year-old as a cricketer.

The unbeaten innings took her Test average to 61.71, the third-highest in the history of the women's game.

With the ball she ranks 12th, at an equally impressive average of 16.76.

It leaves her as one of only two players in the history of the men's or women's game to sit inside the top 15 in both categories -- the other being 1970s English female star Enid Bakewell.

Perry's positive margin of 44.95 between her batting and bowling average is the biggest in the women's game, while only Don Bradman's is higher in the men's game thanks to his extraordinary batting prowess.

While Perry came into the Australia side predominantly as a bowler in her teens, she says she believed she had always been an allrounder growing up.

"Initially got an opportunity in the bowling ranks and that was really great and I loved it but growing up but I've always batted and always loved batting," Perry said.

"I spent a lot of hours in the nets with my dad who has thrown over a million balls to me in his life."

Perry's growth with the bat has never been clearer than in the past four years.

Since the 2013 Ashes, she has scored more than 3000 runs at an average of 58.8 across all forms of the game.

Saturday's record-breaking innings came after Australian cricket legend Belinda Clark remarked this week she had never seen another player like Perry.

Right now, it's pretty hard to argue with her.

"Everyone brings their own unique piece to the game," Clark told AAP.

"I don't know of a previous Ellyse Perry in the women's game.

"Someone that bowls and bats genuinely as an allrounder, that's rare. And it's rare in the men's game as well.

"She will probably go down as one of the great allrounders.

"She will probably be remembered as a batting allrounder at the end of her career."

* Conventional qualifiers for male averages are 20 Test innings and 2000 balls bowled, while female qualifiers are 10 and 1000 due to less matches being played.


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world