Break from bowling a blessing in disguise: Aussie all-rounder Perry

Canberra [Australia], October 1 (ANI): Ellyse Perry thinks her recent break from bowling may have long-term advantages as she attempts to reclaim her position as a full-fledged allrounder in the Australia team.
In the Australian (Women's National Cricket League) WNCL match against South Australia last Saturday in Adelaide, Perry bowled for the first time since March, when she was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back. She grabbed 1 for 7 in three overs of a gradual comeback.
"In a lot of ways, I think having that back injury was a bit of a silver lining. I've had a chance to slightly tweak a few things technically and think that's given me an action that's a little more sound now and takes a bit of stress off my body, too," said Perry as quoted by ESPN.
Since losing her spot in the T20I team, Perry hasn't played for Australia since the ODI World Cup final against England in Christchurch. However, Perry showed hints of finding another gear in the Hundred, when she represented Birmingham Phoenix, with a strike rate of 136.73. The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) with Sydney Sixers looms as pivotal if Perry hopes to survive the threat of younger players in the T20 format.
"Think every season you want to try and improve and evolve," she said. "Particularly from a personal point of view, that's been a great challenge in the last little bit to work on my batting and try to elevate a few different things."
Following Rachael Haynes' retirement, there will be at least one opening in Australia's T20 side when they next get together for the tour of India in December, which is part of their preparation for defending the T20 World Cup in February. If Meg Lanning does not return, there may be another opening, which would also leave Australia in need of a new captain.
Under the new permanent head coach Shelly Nitschke, there is a sense that the team is beginning a new era. The WNCL's opening rounds have demonstrated some of the depth of the batting available, with the century achieved by Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Voll among the five so far this season.
"Don't know if it's a new era, but a bit of a chance to continue to evolve. With Shelley coming on board as full-time head coach now there are some changes, but I think it's something that in a lot of ways we've been planning for a while. We are incredibly fortunate to have some wonderful depth within the squad and more broadly in domestic cricket so I think there's going to be some new opportunities for players. We've got a lot of younger players coming through as well and pushing for spots so that's always exciting," Perry said.
"We'd love to hold on to the nucleus of what we've been doing over the last couple of years because it's been successful but certainly within the group in any sport you have to continue to evolve," the Australian all-rounder added. (ANI)