Ellyse Perry likely to play Women’s World Cup final as specialist batter: Meg Lanning

As per the latest developments, Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry might play as a specialist batter in the Women’s World Cup 2022 final against England. Perry had missed the last two fixtures in the competition amid back issues. In order to regain match fitness, she even went through crunch training sessions in Christchurch ahead of the final clash on Sunday (April 3).

It must be noted that Perry had missed the semi-final and final of the T20 World Cup a couple of years ago, wherein Australia emerged victorious at home. Hence, she’s determined to avoid another heartbreak. Aussie skipper Meg Lanning said Perry has done well in the fitness test and is on the right track to feature in the final.

Ellyse Perry got through a pretty hard and high-intensity session: Meg Lanning

“We feel like we’ll have a full squad to pick from,” Lanning told reporters. “Ellyse got through a pretty hard and high-intensity session yesterday and she’s trained again today and is feeling pretty good. It’ll just depend on how she pulls up sort of this afternoon … at this stage, it’s looking pretty good,” she added.

It must be noted that Perry hasn’t bowled much even in the nets after leaving the field midway against South Africa 12 days ago. However, a batting average of over 50 in the ODI format means Lanning won’t have any hesitation in picking her as a specialist batter.

“She can definitely play as a specialist bat and that’s probably the most likely scenario. She hasn’t bowled for a couple of weeks now and it would be difficult for her to come out and bowl in a final if she hadn’t done that,” said Lanning further. Meanwhile, if Perry is fit and available, Annabel Sutherland is likely to make way for her as she hasn’t been up to the mark in the competition.

Meanwhile, Australia are hunting for their seventh World Cup title and will definitely step into the summit clash as favourites, having been unbeaten in this competition so far. However, their task won’t be easy as England are the defending champions and are expected to present a good case against their arch-rivals.