Australia are ready to take a chance on Ellyse Perry if necessary in Sunday’s Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s, with head coach Shelley Nitschke saying the all-rounder can play even if she is not fully fit.Perry retired in pain during Australia’s semi-final win over the West Indies at The Oval after feeling what the team described as a “slight quadruple awareness”. She was out after facing seven balls, and Australia later said the decision was taken as a precautionary measure as they were in control of the match.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Nitschke said Australia had not trained since the semi-final, so there was still no clear update on Perry’s condition.
However, she admitted that the World Cup final changes how teams assess a player’s fitness.“Yes, potentially,” Nitschke said when asked if Perry could play without being fully fit.“I think there are still certain things you want to be able to do as well, [to] Being able to continue to contribute to the team and hold her own, whether that be on the field or running between the wickets. But there is this element, which is that this is a World Cup final, so how tolerant are we there? So it’s definitely a slightly different lens than it might have been some other times.”
Nitschke said the team was still hopeful Perry would be available for the final.“I hope she’s okay and available on Sunday,” Nitschke said.“We don’t really have a clear picture of what that looks like.He added: “We are confident, but we are not 100% sure how things will go at the moment.”Perry was Australia’s top run-scorer in the tournament with 185 runs at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 135.03.
She scored half-centuries against Pakistan and India, including a 38-ball 56 against India that led Australia to victory and ended Harmanpreet Kaur’s team’s campaign.She also took four wickets during the tournament.Australia will play their first World Series final since 2023 when they take on Lord’s on Sunday. Perry, who missed the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground due to a hamstring injury, is now racing to be fit for another chance at the World Cup final.