Erin Phillips and Ellyse Perry: two superstars revel in ‘good news’ moment for women’s sport
On the eve of a T20 World Cup and with the AFLW kicking goals again, women’s sporting royalty came together in Adelaide, Erin Phillips branding Ellyse Perry’s world no. 1 side ‘trailblazers’ for others to follow.
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If you were looking for proof of the sheer depth of talent in women’s sport in Australia, it was easy to find in Adelaide this week.
The world’s best cricketer and erstwhile World Cup soccer player, chewing the fat with an Olympic medallist currently kicking goals in the AFLW.
With the Australian cricket team in town for a warm-up match against South Africa ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup starting on Friday, Ellyse Perry and Erin Phillips came together for the first time, along with members of their respective teams.
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Greatness knows greatness. The pair, unsurprisingly, hit it off immediately.
“She’s incredible; firstly as an athlete – and I don’t say woman athlete because she’s an incredible athlete, full stop – but what she’s achieved on an international stage is phenomenal,” the Crows midfielder said of Perry.
“She’s on another level, she’s that good.“She’s the face of Australian cricket and a big reason as to why the sport’s been so successful and her success has shone a massive light on cricket. But I just love the way she goes about her business on a professional level and she plays fearless, it’s great.”
Perry was equally awed by Phillips, not just on the football field, but away from it.
“I think just her ability to have an impact across multiple codes and environments for such a sustained period of time is really inspiring,” said all-rounder Perry, 29.
“I know the AFLW is new, but she exudes this level of experience and competency … she really stands out in that way.”
Last week, Perry won her third Belinda Clark Award as Australia’s top cricketer, and was named 2019 ICC Cricketer of the Year.
The Australian cricket team is the reigning T20 World Cup champion and the Crows are the AFLW’s reigning premiers and both are gunning for back-to-back glory, by promoting elite standards.
Perry said the rise of women’s sport was inspiring a new generation of athlete.
“There’s good news story after good news story across so many different sports and there’s a real emphasis on continuing to drive that growth and development,” she said.
Phillips, 34, described the Australian Women’s Cricket team as trailblazers.
“I feel really proud of what they have done and how far they have come. The pathways they are opening up for young girls is awesome,” she said.
Crows co-captain Chelsea Randall said the cricketers were leaders in women’s sport, while Australia’s vice-captain Rachael Haynes said what stood out about the Adelaide Football Club was their work ethic.
About half of the Australian cricket team watched the Crows beat St Kilda on Sunday and Phillips was delighted.
“How good’s that? Women supporting women,” she said.