Perry finds bowling rhythm with technical balance

Through a series in which there has been as much interest in Ellyse Perry's nets practice as her bowling on the field, it was the player herself who reminded us all that there is nothing quite as important as the contest.

On another rain-affected day of this one-off Test on the Gold Coast, Perry produced her most impressive performance of this multi-format tour to date; brandishing a new pink ball under lights, she took 1-20 from a seven-over spell that was more in keeping with the world-class allrounder who has so regularly delivered the goods across her 250-match international career.

And while her atypical inconsistency with the ball and her subsequent remedial work with Australia pace-bowling coach Ben Sawyer has been a talking point in the media through this series, Perry was adamant she was well versed in making the mental switch from the practice nets to the pitch.

"(With) a little bit of experience over my career, balancing (technical matters and performance) has always been something I've worked on," she explained.

"I have a really strong interest in the technical side of the game and always have, but once you're out in the middle, the competition and the contest always comes into it, and that takes your mind away from the technical stuff."

"But at the same time I think (technical knowledge) can be really handy; if you're doing something over and over again in a game that's not quite right, if you've got a good understanding you can draw on that and hopefully make a change on the run."

Bowling from the southern end of Metricon Stadium, Perry was able to better control the swinging ball than at other times through this series, and she caused problems for both the right-handed Mithali Raj as well as the left-handed Yastika Bhatia.

The veteran quick should have dismissed them both, with Beth Mooney spilling a nick at fourth slip from Raj that she would normally have held, while Yastika's leading edge was well caught by the same fielder in the gully a short time later to hand Perry her first wicket of the series.

Prior to the Test, Australia coach Matthew Mott said Perry's form issues had been more to the left-handers, and as a result, she was satisfied – if not elated – with her day two performance.

"I thought that was a really nice time to bowl – straight after the break and with the lights coming on, it started to do a little bit more and it was a really good little patch for us," the 30-year-old said.

"I've been doing some work with Ben Sawyer in the lead-up to the Test, just around some alignment, particularly to the leftie – I just keep losing it down that leg side – and I think the more that I've had a chance to bowl, it's come along.

"It's definitely not close to being consistent yet, but I really enjoyed those couple of days with Ben … and it's been nice to then put (that work) into practice during the game.

"Certainly when you're searching for a little bit of form there's probably more balls that feel a bit shakier than others, but I think (the work with Sawyer has) paid off a bit.

"There's obviously a bit to go, but yeah, it's been OK."

And while the veteran allrounder shone from one end, it was her 19-year-old counterpart Annabel Sutherland who shone from the other.

After a shaky start in the field yesterday and with only limited opportunity with the ball, Sutherland today showed exactly why she was selected, bowling a pair of economical five-over spells that cost her 25 runs in total, and causing problems on off stump for the right-handed pair of Raj and Punam Raut.

"I think Annabel was the pick of the bowlers today," Perry added of her Victorian teammate, who also pulled off a sharp direct hit runout. "She really toiled away and was very unlucky not to get some reward from her spell.

"She put in a big effort – you could see she was pretty exhausted by the end of her second spell.

"That was pretty awesome to see from such a young player who hasn't had a huge amount of opportunity this summer, so she's really made the most of that."

CommBank Series v India

Australia lead India 4-2 on points

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India Test and ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

First ODI:Australia won by nine wickets

Sep 24: Australia won by five wickets

Sep 26: India won by two wickets

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast