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Ellyse Perry might have played almost 250 matches for Australia across all formats of the game since debuting in 2007, but there are two things the superstar allrounder has never experienced in the game.
She’s never played a Test match against India and she’s never faced a ball at Gold Coast’s Metricon Stadium.
All that changes on September 30 when Australia takes on India in their one and only Test of the seven-game multi-format series.
In fact, the Aussies have only donned the whites against England during the past 15 years despite repeatedly going public with their desire to play more long-form cricket.
Allrounder Perry, with her patience and technique, was built for Test cricket - in fact, she treats the red ball like a buffet.
Perry tormented England in the last Test she played, in 2019, scoring 116 in the first innings and then added 76 not out in the second dig.
“I’ve only ever played England in a Test Match … so a new opposition, an entirely new venue that none of us have ever played at before, will be a pretty historic moment. It’s going to be really cool,” she said.
Australia and India last faced off in a Test Match in February, 2006, with the Aussies coming away the convincing winners.
And while no current Australian player was there that day, the Indian squad features two who were: pace bowler Jhulan Goswami and top order batter Mithali Raj.
Both were back into the rhythm of Test cricket in June when India played England in a drawn Test match at Bristol.
With the green and gold having last played a
Test in July 2019, it’s fair to say the Indians come into the four-day Test with more long-format experience under their caps.
Perry said the renaissance of women’s Test cricket – now increasingly played inside allformat international series, like June’s India/England series – is a good sign for the game.
But she said the Tests shouldn’t be played as one-off matches, but instead played for points that then help determine the entire series winner, which is how Ashes series are won and lost.
“The best case in point is how great and relevant these multi-format series have become, especially among the top-playing nations,” Perry said. “I think (multi-series) add a lot of depth to a series, create a lot of competition, and are really great theatre, and the Test match plays a pivotal
role in that.
“It would be a great way to introduce more Test match cricket into the women’s game, that they are not played as a one-off match, but incorporated into the whole format of the series.”
Perry said Test cricket continued to carry with it a huge amount of tradition and history, and it’s important all elite cricketers experience it.
“It’s also very much, I think, the greatest test of any cricketer’s ability in terms of how drawn out it is and how much you have to perform over a long period of time,” she said.
“It challenges people’s techniques and concentration, and physical capacity, so it’s the ultimate test.
“And the symbolism of wearing a Baggy Green is pretty special, too.
“I just think that sort of test of your capacity, both mentally and physically, over four days is really great to be subjected to that, and see how you stand up against it.”
Perry said a Test match played inside an all-format series didn’t require too much of a change in team preparation, except for a few extra overs in the nets while on tour, and an adjustment to the new colour of the ball and pads.
But where the game is played is vital, and this should be taken into account when planning for more Tests.
“One of the really crucial parts of playing Test match cricket, particularly when you’re playing a one-off game, is the conditions,” she said.
“And where that game is staged becomes really important to make sure the game can be really competitive and aggressive,” she added, recalling the 2019 Ashes Test played on a benign Taunton pitch.
“I think that’s the crucial part to making these games aggressive games, that the conditions match the style of play teams want to partake in.”
In her 14-year career, Perry has played eight Tests for a total of 624 runs (including a double century against England in 2017) and 31 wickets.
She said the 2017 Ashes Test played under lights at North Sydney Oval (where she scored an unbeaten 203) remains special to her as one of her favourite
Tests.
It challenges people’s techniques and concentration and so it’s physical capacity, the ultimate test. Test cricket wanting more Ellyse Perry on