Last Updated on 1 day ago by Charbel Coorey
Australia are sweating on the fitness of Ellyse Perry ahead of Sunday’s T20 World Cup Final showdown against archrivals England. The all-rounder retired hurt after facing seven deliveries in the semi-final against West Indies due to quadricep “awareness”.
Perry is enjoying a career-best T20 World Cup, scoring 185 runs at an average 46.25 and strike rate of 135.03. This includes two half-centuries of the highest quality against Pakistan and India.
Will Ellyse Perry play in the 2026 T20 World Cup Final: Sophie Molineux provides update
Sophie Molineux provided an update on match-eve. The captain’s words were quite encouraging, but the team management will wait until matchday to make the final call.
“She (Perry) went through a bit of a testing for the final. She trained really well today, had a bat, had a bowl. We’ll assess tomorrow and see how she pulls up,” Molineux said, as quoted by the ICC.
Echoing what coach Shelley Nitschke said earlier in the week, Molineux reiterated the possibility of Perry playing without being 100% fit. Australia’s bowling depth can allow them to play Perry as a specialist batter, and it’s an option they are considering.
“It’d be great if she could bowl for us, but at the same time with our bowling depth we feel like we’ve got a bit of cover there,” Molineux said.
“Her T20 World Cup so far with the bat has been incredible, she’s won a couple of games for us. I think her with the bat even if she’s not bowling, it’ll still be a massive positive for us.”
Australia are aiming to win back the T20 World Cup after missing out on the final in 2024. The six-time champions have barely missed a beat, winning all their matches to date.
However, Australia face a tough test at Lord’s especially given England have never lost a Women’s World Cup Final on home soil. Molineux recognises the challenge and backs her team to stand up to the occasion.
“They’ve played some really brilliant cricket over the last few weeks, they’ve got the team in a really good place, and they seem to be full of confidence, and you add onto that 30,000, English fans here at Lord’s,” said Molineux.
“We know it’s going be an incredible challenge, but it’s also going be a really special day. We match up well against them.”
