Star Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry has signed with Birmingham Phoenix for the inaugural edition of The Hundred. Perry will line up alongside compatriot Ashleigh Gardner, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine among other this English summer. Perry will also reunite with coach Ben Sawyer, who is responsible for the Sydney Sixers side in the Women’s Big Bash League.
“I can’t wait to come over to the UK and get involved in The Hundred this summer,” Perry said. “It’s fantastic to see how it’s put women’s cricket in the spotlight and attracted so many of the world’s top players to come and play in it.
“With 100 balls per side it’s going to be really exciting to play in, and I’m looking forward to helping introduce a new generation to cricket and hopefully inspiring them to pick up a bat and ball themselves.”
Perry, the ICC Women’s Player of the Decade, was not among the players unveiled three weeks ago at The Hundred event, given players are being signed by the eight teams on an individual basis with no equivalent draft event as with the men’s competition.
“Ellyse’s participation in The Hundred shows that the competition continues to attract the best players from around the world,” Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred Women’s Competition said. “By showcasing the most talented female cricketers on the planet, on a big stage, alongside the men, we have an opportunity to continue to normalise cricket as a sport for women and girls, as much as it is for men and boys. I truly believe that The Hundred will be a gamechanger for women’s sport.”
The women’s competition will headline the start of The Hundred with Oval Invincible taking on Manchester Originals in a standalone women’s match on July 21, a day before the men’s teams meet. After those first two games, men’s and women’s sides will both play at the same venue on the same date. The final will take place at Lord’s on August 21.
