Perry backed to adjust to new T20 role

Ashleigh Gardner says there is no need to read much into Ellyse Perry's unusual role in the Australia XI for the first T20I in Hamilton. 

For just the fifth time in her 121-game T20I career, Perry did not bowl in Australia's six-wicket victory over the White Ferns in what was her first international game since tearing her hamstring during last year's T20 World Cup. 

Having bowled in every 20-over game played by Australia since August 2015 and taken the new ball in every game from the start of 2020 through to that tournament-ending injury, Perry was relegated to fielder alone at Seddon Park. 

Australia captain Meg Lanning instead employed six other bowlers; left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, off-spinner Gardner, leg-spinner Georgia Wareham and pace bowlers Tayla Vlaeminck, Megan Schutt and Nicola Carey. 

Lanning used seven bowlers in each of the three T20Is the trans-Tasman rivals played in Brisbane last September, so the wealth of options was not necessarily the sticking point. 

However, Gardner suggested it may have simply come down to match-ups and roles within the attack, with fiery fast bowler Vlaeminck also making her return from a long-term injury on Sunday. 

"I guess we've just got so many bowlers and match-ups come into play," Gardner said following Australia's win. 

"Tayla was always going to bowl her four overs, which potentially took overs form Pez because they do a similar thing.  

"We have people that do all different things throughout our bowling innings sand it probably comes back to having too many bowlers for Meg to choose from. 

"We've got a lot of fast bowlers here at the moment and you look at the people sitting on the bench, there's probably three or four quicks not even in the team (as well as) heaps in the XI. 

"So there are a lot to choose form and that's the beauty of our squad at the moment, there is so much talent and depth there."  

Last week, Australia legend Lisa Sthalekar suggested to Nine Newspapers that Perry may no longer be an automatic selection in the T20I XI given her position at No.6 in the batting line-up, her lower strike rate compared to the aggressive batters above her in the order and her recent lean returns with the ball since returning from her hamstring injury. 

Speaking ahead of the first T20I, Lanning backed in her star allrounder, who has been a staple in the Australia 20-over team since her international debut in 2007. 

"Pez is a world-class player and I think she's proven over a long period of time that she can perform on the big stage and play different roles as well," Lanning said on Saturday. 

Perry certainly proved her worth with bat in hand on Sunday, with her composure at No.6 crucial as Australia recovered from a top-order collapse. 

She strode to the middle with her team in deep trouble at 4-62, needing 62 from 50 deliveries, and provided the perfect foil for Gardner – who hit an unbeaten 73 from 48 balls – rotating the strike with her more aggressive partner before hitting back-to-back fours to seal victory, finishing on 23 not out. 

With Vlaeminck unlikely to play the second T20I in Napier, with coach Matthew Mott declaring she would only play three or four matches throughout the six-game limited-overs tour as they manage her return from a serious foot injury, the door could open for Perry to claim back the new ball. 

Speaking to reporters last week, Perry said it had taken 12 months for her to feel like she had returned to full fitness. 

She also revealed she used her long rehabilitation from a serious hamstring injury to tweak her bowling run-up, a move aimed at providing greater balance and power when she hit the crease. 

Perry's comeback came for the Sydney Sixers in WBBL|06 in October, where she produced 390 runs at 48.75 across 13 matches, but received some criticism for her strike rate of 96.53, while with the ball she took eight wickets at 34.37, with an economy rate of 8.25. 

"It's probably taken me the best part of 12 months to feel like I'm back to full playing fitness and performance levels in terms of recovering from my hamstring and just not playing a lot of cricket," Perry said. 

"By no means was I close to where I was before I got injured during the WBBL and it's probably still a work-in-progress but at the end of the day it's been a nice opportunity to work on various aspects of my game." 

CommBank tour of New Zealand 2021

Australia ODI & T20I Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck

T20I squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Frances Mackay, Katey Martin (wk), Thamsyn Newton, Hannah Rowe

ODI squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek - (games 2 & 3 only), Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Frances Mackay, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin (wk), Hannah Rowe (game 1 only), Lea Tahuhu

1st T20: Australia won by six wickets

2nd T20: March 30, McLean Park, Napier, 1pm AEDT

3rd T20: April 1, Eden Park, Auckland, 1pm AEDT

1st ODI: April 4, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 9am AEDT

2nd ODI: April 7, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

3rd ODI: April 10, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

All matches will be shown live in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo