The support is just crazy: Ellyse Perry on RCB, WPL, and her cricketing journey
"I remember thinking that was the most unbelievable moment ever. Now, standing on the same field with a packed stadium, where the noise is so deafening that we can’t even communicate, feels surreal," Perry said. "All of us at RCB feel incredibly lucky to be part of this team because the support is absolutely overwhelming," she added.
Bengaluru: Ellyse Perry, currently leading the race for the Orange Caps with 323 runs in seven innings for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the ongoing WPL, said they went to the first IPL match where Brendan McCullum scored around 150 runs for KKR.
“I remember thinking that was the most insane thing ever. Now, to be on the same field with a packed stadium where we can’t even communicate because it’s so loud—it’s incredible,” Perry said.
” All of us at RCB feel so fortunate to be playing for this team because the support is just crazy,'” she said.
“I think I’ve been able to continue to learn, which has been the most motivating factor. To be still playing, the opportunity that always presents itself is to learn something new, to be challenged,” the Australian allrounder said.
“And I think particularly in women’s cricket, every year it just gets a little bit bigger, a little bit better,” she said.
Having made her debut for Australia at 17, Perry recalled her early years.
“It’s funny. I’m not sure you learn a lot in the early phases because everything’s just so new. You often see young players coming in their first year, and it looks so easy for them,” she said.
“That’s because they have no expectations, no past experiences to draw from. It’s a lovely time to play because you just take everything in your stride and play with so much freedom,” Perry explained.
“When I first started, hardly any of our matches were televised, maybe one or two a year, which were precursors to men’s matches. The kind of reporting always followed the same narrative: ‘Do you wish that you were paid more to play? Do you wish you had more attention?’ It sort of perpetuated the same storyline about women’s sport,” Perry said.
“If you fast forward 15, 20 years to now, every match is covered, we’ve got 30,000 people at the stadium every night, and women have the opportunity to work in sport full-time, whether as a player, a coach, an administrator, or an executive,” she said.
Having been with RCB since the WPL’s inception, Perry has naturally taken on a leadership role in the setup.
“It’s been amazing to see how much domestic talent is coming through. Meeting so many young players, whether at RCB or other franchises, has shown me how big this opportunity is for them,” she said.
Perry also noted the rising quality of cricket each season. “As this tournament progresses, I see more opportunities for young girls playing and coming through and how good they are. It’s a bit scary! Every year I come back, there are new faces pushing the standards even higher.”
