Perry forecasts pace to dominate in T20 World Cup 2020

Australian allrounder Ellyse Perry has stated that fast bowling is ‘back in vogue’, and is going to play a major role in the upcoming T20 World Cup starting February 21. The hosts unleashed their fast-bowling brigade against India to a huge effect during the ongoing T20I Tri-Series in Canberra last Sunday (February 2), with Perry and fellow quick Tayla Vlaeminck tearing through their opponents.

"I think fast bowling in general if you look at the trend across the Big Bash earlier this season, has come back into vogue a little bit,” Perry said on Thursday (February 6). “I think in the last couple of years spin has been more dominant from a bowling point of view but certainly later in the summer, the wickets are a bit harder. They’ve had a bit more time so there’s more carry and bounce."

While the top two wicket-takers in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) were spinners, 12 of the 15 most prolific bowlers were pace exponents, backing up Perry’s theory. Fast bowling was certainly the winner on Sunday, where Perry picked up four wickets while Vlaeminck, on return from an ACL strain, regularly hit speeds of 120kph on her way to a career-best three for 13.

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Brimming with confidence after successfully completing her first full WBBL season, the 20-year-old speedster is certainly going to have a breakout tournament with the ball. “If you look at Tayla Vlaeminck’s performance last weekend in Canberra, she’s got incredible X-factor on Australian wickets,” Perry said. “That was really crucial for us in that second game against India. I think across the board fast bowling is going to play a big role in this World Cup, which is really exciting.”

Australia had mixed results in the opening weekend of the tri-series in Canberra, losing a Super Over to England on Saturday (February 1) before bouncing back against India. Asked about how important the series is in the preparations for the World Cup, "there has probably been no better preparation" for Perry.

"Hugely important, in terms of the oppositions in India and England, they are the two big teams in the world," said the allrounder. "We have had a great rivalry against both of them for the last couple of years. I think the chance to play in a few different locations has been brilliant and sort of have to back-up two days in a row has been really nice as well. I think from that point of view there is probably been no better preparation for us."

Perry, the first Aussie woman to play in both football and cricket World Cups, also spoke about the knack of finding a way to win for them. “The big part is that the habit of winning, and make sure whatever circumstances you face, because every game is going to be different, conditions are going to be different, oppositions are different, so it’s really about a knack of finding a way to win. We had some really good chats in the last couple of days in terms of how to adapt quickly to whatever is thrown to us. All in all, it’s been a brilliant preparation for us," she added.  

The Aussies play India and England on Saturday (February 8) and Sunday (February 9) respectively. The final is on February 12. The Meg Lanning-led side will then pit against West Indies and South Africa in the T20 World Cup warm-up matches.