Player of the series in Australia’s 2015 Ashes victory and her country’s most recent Women’s Cricketer of the Year, all-rounder Ellyse Perry is one of the biggest stars in women’s cricket today.
She’s also about to feature for Loughborough Lightning in the inaugural six-team, three-week Kia Super League (KSL).
As she prepared for her first appearance with Lightning in the T20 competition this weekend, the dual cricket and football international talked us through her approach to T20 bowling and the tried-and-tested deliveries in the Perry bag of tricks.
T20 bowling brings its own unique demands, as the right-arm medium-fast Perry explains: “As a bowler it’s quite a challenge in T20 because the batters play so aggressively.
“That also gives you a really great opportunity to bowl different deliveries and try and out-think the batter, and I guess think one step ahead in terms of what their next move is going to be and what shots they’re likely to play.
“If you can be pretty economical and not get too slapped around the park, then you’ve probably had a good day out, which is a little bit different to one-day cricket or Test match cricket. But bowlers can also easily win a game for their team – if they bowl well in four overs it can be quite devastating. So there’s plenty in it for a bowler.”
So what deliveries does she opt for to combat aggressive batting?
“First delivery and grip that I’d use in a T20 match with a brand-new ball would be an outswinger. That’s my stock delivery and the ball that I bowl fairly naturally. I tend to hold it with the seam just rotating to the left of my two fingers – my index and my middle finger. And always have the shiny side on the right-hand side of the ball.
“The second ball I’d probably bowl is a slower ball. Basically you have your outswinging grip and as I go to bowl it, I switch it so that my hand runs down the seam and I’ve got the two fingers splitting that. You just sort of flick it out of your wrist a bit like an off-spinner would.
Perry’s final preferred delivery is the bouncer.
“If I’m going to bowl a bouncer I just hold the ball straight down the seam. Sometimes if there’s a little bit in the wicket and it’s holding out, I might hold it cross-seam, pitch it short and hope that it bounces up near the batter’s head somewhere.
“In the women’s game the bouncer actually is a really important one. A lot of girls look to prop on the front foot because often that’s where we bowl – quite full – so being able to bowl a short ball can be quite effective in T20 cricket.
“As a bowler it’s really important not to get too predictable because once you do that, the batter can play the same shot and hit the ball where they want to hit it. Reading those cues and knowing what’s on at the time and what the batter’s looking to do is a really important aspect of T20 bowling.
“The best bowlers in the world do that really well and use their variation when it’s on – that’s probably the key, not just using it for the sake of it but actually using it for a purpose.”
They do say variety is the spice of life. Watch out for the Perry trio of deliveries in this weekend’s KSL!
Ellyse Perry’s three top tips for T20 bowling
- Variation and using it at the right time.
- Setting your fields right – knowing your batters, where they’re likely to hit and their scoring shots.
- Enjoy the challenge – it’s not always easy as a bowler and some days you just go for runs but don’t get disheartened.