Southern Stars

Ellyse Perry

I think we all know who Ellyse Perry is by now, arguably the best female athlete in the country and certainly one of the most versatile. She’s put away the football boots for the time being to focus on the Southern Stars’ campaign against the White Ferns of New Zealand for the next couple of months.

A member of the national cricket team since she was 16, the now 21 year old fast bowling all-rounder talks about what drives her to succeed at an elite level in one of Australia’s favourite national sports:

“What really motivates me is just the challenge of getting better and then being able to achieve something you want to,” says Perry, who is known for her focussed training and preparation both with her team and in her private training sessions with her father. “Particularly in a sport like cricket, but in any sport, I don’t think you are ever as good as you can be.”

Revered for her bowling style and ability to deliver a ball at over 124km/hr, Perry explains on the field she looks to retaining her focus and rhythm, and considers the notion of fast bowlers being fiery or intimidating “as a bit of a stereotype”.

“There’s a particular spot on the pitch I always seem to look at. Regardless of what the batters are doing, or what the people on the field are doing, or people off the field are doing, or what the umpire is doing, you are sort of just acutely aware of what you are doing,” says Perry, who bowled the last over in the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars defeat of New Zealand to win the ICC 2010 World Twenty20 title.

Cricket allows no room for resting one’s laurels on historical results, with Perry saying “it really is such a fickle game in that one minute you are on top and the next minute you can be completely destroyed in a sense by a batter.”

Irrespective of individual match results, Perry has a greater goal to pay what she perceives to be a debt to cricket legends such as Don Bradman. “I really want to uphold the traditions of cricket and in a lot of senses do proud the people who have played before us. Someone like Don Bradman, who is such a legend of the sport; you sort of feel indebted to him to do your utmost to continue the culture and tradition that has been so strong around cricket.”

Catch Ellyse in action for the Southern Stars.

We’re only a couple of days away from the start of the Southern Stars campaign against the White Ferns of New Zealand. It’s an intense schedule of Twenty 20 and one day international matches through January and February.

I’ll be posting interviews and features on the players over the next few days and to whet your appetite, here’s some footage from Australia’s win in 2010:

Here are the details of the upcoming matches.

If you can’t make it to a game, check your TV guide as plenty of the games are on ABC1 and Ch9.

Ellyse Perry

Ellyse Perry is not just a young sporting star, she has a look that turns heads and an attitude that wins respect. Australia could not wish for a better ambassador. 

At just 20, Ellyse is a dual international, representing her country in cricket and soccer. She made her international sporting debut at 16 and, the following year, became Australian cricket’s youngest ever Test player – male or female.  Ellyse was a member of the victorious Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars at last year’s T20 World Cup and shone at the 2011 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal for the Matildas.

But it’s not her achievements on the world’s sporting pitches that make Ellyse an inspiration. Rather, it’s her attitude – to life, to people and to the opportunities she’s grasped.

In the same way Ellyse finds time for family, friends, sport and study, she’s found a wonderful balance across the generations, taking the best qualities from each and relating to all. 

Ellyse is one of life’s observers. Disarmingly unaffected by her success, she’s more interested in finding out about the people around her than talking about herself. And, you suspect every snippet of information she gleans is unwittingly locked away for future use.

Ellyse also defies clichés. Ask her about sacrifices and she turns the conversation to making choices and taking opportunities.

“I don’t feel like I’ve made sacrifices and, if I did, they’ve been repaid tenfold in the wonderful adventures and experiences that I’ve had,” she says. “I don’t really believe in sacrifices. It’s just my choice – I never saw giving up this to do that, it was always just what I loved the most. Probably my biggest thing is that I never shy away from an opportunity. I always want to make the most of things because you never know when it’s going to end, especially with sport – it’s such a fickle occupation and things change so quickly.  I think you can always achieve something if you say ‘yes’.”

This interview was brought to you by the Commonwealth Bank. Read more on their website.