“Everyone took some really great strides”: Ellyse Perry keen to expand T20 gains during South Africa tour

Sydney [Australia], January 26 (ANI): Australia’s star all-rounder Ellyse Perry, keen to build on their T20 success in their upcoming South Africa tour after her team’s successful white-ball campaign in India, said Australia is making good progress towards achieving their ideal approach to T20 batting.

The team is still working on their methodology, but Perry emphasised the progress achieved following an early glitch in India.

Australia will host South Africa from Saturday in the first of a three-match T20I series in Canberra. A three-match ODI series will follow before the tour concludes with a first Test between the two nations in Perth in mid-February.

The all-rounder said Australia was making good progress towards achieving their ideal approach to T20 batting, having recovered from an opening-match setback in India and preparing to face South Africa for the first time since defeating them in the T20 World Cup final over a year ago.

“Really pleasingly, we’re starting to nail down exactly what that looks like for us. That’s broadly speaking for the team, but also for every individual within the batting line-up. Someone like Phoebe [Litchfield] had a phenomenal series over in India, both in the one-dayers and the T20s, but I think everyone took some really great strides forward and it’s a great chance again to start this series with T20 to just look at continuing to expand that,” Perry was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

South Africa, hungry for retribution after losing the World Cup final last year, has some world-class talent with them. Laura Wolvaardt may have fallen early in their practice match, but Nadine de Klerk’s whirlwind 48 and Chloe Tryon’s tenacious 39 kept them competitive.

“They’re coming pretty hungry after the World Cup final last year. It’s nice to play them again. They’re a wonderful team, they’ve got some seriously world-class players in that group. They’ve been competitive for a long period of time. We’ve had some great tussles against them, none more so than that World Cup final, so it’s nice to host them here in Australia and looking forward to the challenge,” she added.

South Africa prepared for the series with a practice T20 against the Governor General’s XI at North Sydney Oval. Batting first, they lost three wickets in the powerplay, including skipper Laura Wolvaardt for a duck, but Nadine de Klerk’s unbeaten 48 off just 24 balls helped them reach 149 for 7. Chloe Tryon, who rejoined to the team following a groyne injury suffered during the WBBL, was the visitors’ second-highest scorer with 39 from 29 balls, sharing a half-century with Sune Luus, who scored 31 from 28.

Nadine de Klerk praised Tryon and Luus for their experience in helping South Africa reach a competitive total.

“Chloe was out there for quite a while before she actually got going and I think that was what was needed on the day,” de Klerk said.

“I know it is T20 cricket and you want to be expressive and really aggressive as well, and I think Chloe just took a bit of time, and the same with Sune. They both batted beautifully and laid some sort of platform for the rest of the batters to come. I think they had quite a decent partnership there. It makes a massive difference. We were 19 for 3… so it just shows that if one or two batters put their heads down and bat for just a little period, it does become a little bit easier,” the South Africa player added.