Use Perry wisely warns Alderman

Terry Alderman says he’s amazed by the skill and technique of Ellyse Perry, but has warned Australia to use the allrounder wisely as a strike weapon.

The former Test bowler commentated on England’s 61-run victory over the Southern Stars in the Commonwealth Bank Women’s Ashes Test at the WACA and was stunned by Perry’s performance.

The 23-year-old took eight wickets and scored 102 runs in the four-day Test, and was named player of the match, despite being on the losing side.

“She’s amazing,” Alderman said. “Every time a wicket is required, throw the ball to Ellyse and she seems to be able to produce it.”

“Her stamina, her technique is fantastic,” he said. “If anything, there’s only one flaw I saw in that maybe she didn’t attack the stumps enough, in other words really trust herself a bit more to try and be a strike bowler instead of bowling that dryer line outside of the off stump.

“But gee, she gets the movement away and, as a former outswing bowler, it certainly made my eyes light up when I saw that sort of bowling.

“She’s got good pace, she’s bowls a good bouncer as well, so she’s the full package and it’s terrific to see.”

Alderman, who took 170 wickets in 41 Tests for Australia, was surprised Perry wasn’t used straight after lunch on day three, when Charlotte Edwards and Arran Brindle mounted a fighting 85-run partnership that steadied England’s second innings after a top-order collapse.

“It allowed England to get away for an extra 40 or 50 runs more than they probably should have got in the second innings,” Alderman said. “And certainly would have tightened up the game a lot more.”

But the former Test bowler has called on the rest of the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars to take the pressure off Perry ahead of the first of three one-day internationals at the MCG on Sunday.

“She’s coming in down the order, so really it’s up to the other girls to step up and take the load off her,” said Alderman. “In the bowling it’s up to Jodie Fields to look after her in the field.”

Alderman admitted he hadn’t seen a great deal of the women’s game prior to the Test but, after watching all four days, he was struck by the quality of the match and skills on display and has called on Australian cricket fans to support the Southern Stars.

“A purist cricket follower should be down here watching this because the talent that’s on show is terrific,” he said. “(The Test) has been a rollercoaster ride as a game and as a spectacle.

“It’s tragic there are only a hundred, 200 people at any one time watching the game.”

The intent and batting performances of the two captains also impressed Alderman. Australia captain Fields came to the crease in the first innings with the Southern Stars struggling at 5-37, and her knock of 42 runs sparked a fightback.

“Jodie Fields in the first innings when the wickets were tumbling, she decided as the captain, bang, bang, bang, she hit four boundaries in a row” said Alderman. “It changed the whole way Charlotte Edwards operated, she went defensively and then the innings actually got rolling again it was fantastic to see.”

“On the other side, Charlotte Edwards comes out with her injury and plays a fantastic innings in a really trying situation,” he said.” She played her shots and the Australians really didn’t know what to do at that stage.

“The chase down, the catches they’ve taken in this game, the fantastic stumping by the wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor down the leg side, the whipping off of the bails – Ian Healy would have been really proud of something like that.”

The Southern Stars must win five from the remaining six matches to reclaim the Women’s Ashes.

They will play the first two ODIs against England at the MCG before moving on to Hobart for the third one-dayer and the first of three T20 matches at Blundstone Arena, which is part of a double-header alongside the men’s T20 match.

The final two T20s will also be double-headers, at the MCG and Stadium Australia in Sydney.