In many aspects of her life, elite sportswoman Ellyse Perry would have us believe she is as human as the rest of us.
She enjoys a cup of tea with friends, reading books, taking her gravel bike for a spin around the country rail trails, and often grabs a takeaway coffee before a morning walk.
Ellyse Perry with her baggy green after the first day of her Test debut in 2008.Credit: Getty Images
She even finds the time to get along to live music gigs.
But above all, Perry says, she is afflicted by the same insecurities and anxieties that plague most of us.
“I can have many a moment of insecurity or weakness,” she says. “But I guess that is just part of the human condition, isn’t it?”
Maybe so, but it is also at this point in conversation, down the phone from Canberra, that the articulate Perry sets herself apart.
As the champion all-rounder prepares for the first women’s Test match at the MCG in 75 years, and the first day-night Test ever at the iconic ground, starting against England next Thursday, she not only admits she has self-doubts, but she also embraces them.
“You can’t let the doubt win,” she says.
“That is the whole beauty and challenge of it – the moments where you feel insecure or doubtful, that’s like the best part of it because that is the most incredible challenge.
“I suppose at the moment a lot of that comes for me being involved in cricket, but that could come in any moment of your life.
“Sometimes you win those battles, and sometimes you probably reflect and think, ‘aaaghh, I let that win out’. But you always get better from it.”
Perry in white ball mode.Credit: ICC via Getty Images
Perry’s contribution to women’s cricket has been enormous.
Across three formats and 17 years – 164 T20s, 155 ODIs and 13 Tests – she has amassed 7212 runs and taken 331 wickets.
But on top of conquering anxieties to help rise to the top of the women’s game, there are other things that set her apart. Like her ability to shun social media.
Outside of her Instagram account, which has 2.6 million followers and is designed to promote her brand, Perry rarely engages with X, Facebook or any online platform.
“I have all those accounts, but I don’t use them; they are not downloaded on my phone,” she says.
“I definitely have a phone that receives messages and calls and stuff, but for the most part, I think the less distractions on there, the better.
“I actually read a very good book about it called The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt – who is quite a well-known social psychologist, and he’s a professor.
“I think it just highlights how much it changes the way that we interact and inhabit the world when we are beholden to a screen. I think that has really stuck in my mind since then.
“I really care about what my friends and family think … outside of that, there is so little in your control. Like, I have got absolutely zero sway over what other people think.”
So, if she doesn’t have her head buried in a phone, how does she spend time on tour?
One of the answers is hanging out with teammates over a cup of tea.
Perry before her debut as a 16-year-old. Credit: Simon Alanka
“If you are not ready to go to bed, and you want some company, it is always nice to put a kettle on and sit around.
“It could be one or two people, or it could be, you know, after a match and people are still a bit wired, it could be five or six. We hang out in one of the girls’ rooms and talk absolute rubbish about life.”
In the twilight of her career, Perry has not thought about retirement, nor has she considered life after cricket. She says she wants to keep playing as long as she can contribute.
She also says she has barely changed – as a person and a cricketer – since making her debut as a 16-year-old against New Zealand in 2007.
Perry batting against England earlier this month.Credit: Getty Images
Now 34, she admits she is no longer has time for superstitions – such as sitting in the same seat on the bus or eating the same breakfast – and she is “probably a bit more mature and better at understanding my emotions and behaviours”.
“But I don’t really think anything else has changed,” she says.
She is extremely private. She moved from Sydney to Melbourne with her then husband, Wallabies star Matt To’omua in 2019, and stayed after the marriage ended. Since then she has largely stayed away from the public glare.
When not on tour, she walks or rides around the city – she doesn’t have a car – checking out the live music scene or rising for an early morning coffee and a stroll around Albert Park Lake.
“Where I grew up [in Sydney’s upper north shore suburb of Wahroonga], I probably relied heavily on just being out at the beach most of the time, whereas in Melbourne, I have probably become a bit more cultured, and gone to a lot more events, which has been really cool,” she says.
Cricket remains the constant.
She sees the coming historic Test at the MCG as a reflection of the ongoing evolution of women’s game – a greater depth of players, bigger crowds, heightened atmosphere, increased pressure and more intense competition.
“It has been a landmark fixture on the calendar for us since it got announced,” she says.
While Australia have already put the series to bed, winning all three ODIs and the first two of three T20s, there is still enormous interest in the coming Test.
There are many intriguing questions to be answered: will the crowds support a women’s Test at the MCG, will captain Alyssa Healy overcome a foot injury in time to play, can England gain some late-series revenge, and can someone get Perry out?
Perry’s faded helmet is a bit like Steve Waugh’s banged-up Baggy Green.Credit: Getty Images
Incredibly, Perry remains unbeaten in her two day-night Tests to date. She made a 213 not out against England at North Sydney Oval in 2017, and then posted scores of 68 not out and one not out against India on the Gold Coast in October 2021. She has also taken five wickets across both Tests.
But while there will be a fascination with Perry’s performance at the crease, there has been growing interest in the ageing state of her once dark green Australian-issue helmet. It appears to be fading to grey.
When asked about its significance, Perry, typically, cannot understand the fuss.
“I just don’t find it that interesting,” she says. “I could always replace it, but I don’t need to because it still works. It is not broken.
“I guess it is nice to have something that sits in my kitbag and symbolically is worn and tattered and has come through the experiences we have all had playing around the world.
“In a way, it is nice to have something like that as a bit of a reminder.“
Look out for the faded green helmet at the MCG from Thursday. The woman under it will have her game face on.
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