Ellyse Perry is one of Australia’s most accomplished athletes. Her record speaks for itself: she was a dual international at only sixteen years of age in both cricket and football. Given how both sports have evolved in recent years this is a feat we are unlikely to see again.
Off the field she is also leading the way as a role model for children around the world while also setting the bar high in business: writing a children’s book, investing in several cafes and aligning herself with some of the biggest brands around the world.
TEAM BONDING ON OVERSEAS TOURS
‘Often it can be really useful for team bonding and you create the fondest memories off the field. When we were in India, it’s such a different and diverse place and very different to what we experience at home. I think everyone bonds on that and those shared experiences. This time around we had heaps of fun on and off the field and that’s really good for cultivating a really strong team environment.
‘In India they are an absolute fanatical country when it comes to cricket. Everyone knows the game so well and are so into it. Whenever they know you’re playing or see you around they just want to talk about cricket and are so aware of it. It’s such a great place to play. The support is firmly against you and they’re cheering for their own team but because they love their cricket so much they appreciate the matches played and performances put out there.’
THE PINNACLE OF WOMEN’S CRICKET
‘I think women’s cricket sits a little differently to men’s cricket in terms of formats so we don’t play a lot of test matches. The only test matches we play are against England at the moment and they are in an Ashes series. That’s combined withT20 and ODI so there’s an emphasis on the limited-overs format and that’s what we play the most. So I think with the one-day World Cup played every four years it’s probably the pinnacle at the moment. The last one was in England and the final was sold out at Lords and set a new benchmark for the sport in a lot of ways. Twenty20 has been an amazing vehicle for the sport to grow and develop and really enabled us to expose more and more people to the sport, especially young girls to take it up.’
WAS SHE BETTER AT FOOTBALL OR CRICKET GROWING UP?
‘I wasn’t really aware of it, or whether I was good or bad at it. I just so looked forward to training during the week after school. Thursday night for training, Saturday morning for matches. Friday night I was probably a pain in the backside to my parents because I was so excited. That’s all I cared about was how much fun I’d have. I used to play all my sports with mainly boys. I kind of liked the competition and being a part of that. I suppose I always held my own in it but didn’t really worry too much if I was good or bad.’
A SHIFT IN MINDSET
‘I think the older I’ve gotten and the more I’ve played that I find I’ve been more interested in leadership. I think early on I never really was conscious of it and what goes in to bringing a team together and actually performing. It’s amazing how much my eyes have opened up to that in the last couple of years particularly captaining the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL and other levels as well. I love that you become so much more invested in it and the whole team dynamic and at the end of the day it’s really just about people.’
EARLY LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
‘The big lesson I learnt early on was from Tom Sermanni who said something I’ve never forgotten. He said, “Look, I promise to always treat you fairly but I’m never going to treat you all the same because you’re all different.” That’s the essence of what I’ve tried to do with my leadership.’
ON HER DYNAMIC WITH ALYSSA HEALY
‘Alyssa and I have quite the interesting dynamic. We’ve known each other since we were nine years old so we’re probably more sisters than friends in terms of our relationship. She’s probably one person in the team I can be completely and utterly honest to and say exactly what I’m feeling. I think she’s the same back to me. So we have a level of understanding and honesty.’
PEOPLE SHE WOULD INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY
Roger Federer, Winston Churchill, Kitty Flanagan, John Mayer, Michael Hussey.
This is an edited extract from Talking with Champions, New Holland Publishers RRP $29.99. Available from all good book retailers or online www.newhollandpublishers.com
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