Ellyse Perry stars with bat and ball to seal series win over New Zealand for Australia
Ellyse Perry has put in a five-star performance with bat and ball, before Jess Jonasson delivered career-best figures to crush New Zealand and clinch a series victory in Adelaide.
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Superstar all-rounder Ellyse Perry broke her one-day international century drought in amazing circumstances as Australia continued its dominance of the Rose Bowl trophy in Adelaide on Sunday.
Perry — the world’s second-ranked one-day batter — scored her maiden one-day hundred in her 102nd match off the second-last ball off the Australian innings when she was dropped on the long-on boundary by Anna Peterson when she was on 97.
The high ball bounced off Peterson’s hands and rolled over the boundary line for four before Perry ended the innings in style with a towering six from the final delivery to finish unbeaten on 107 from 110 balls.
Perry said she did not consider that she had never scored an ODI century when she raced into the nineties for the fifth time in her career against the White Ferns.
“For me, to be honest, it (a hundred) is just a number,’’ she said.
“I’ve never really worried too much about it, I’ve just really loved my role with the team, which is to contribute with the bat and the ball.
“Sure, it’s cool to say now that I’ve scored a hundred for Australia but in the scheme of things it’s no big deal for me.’’
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Perry, who also claimed 1/15 off seven overs with the ball, said she wasn’t concerned when her skied ball that brought up her hundred was heading straight to Peterson, who dropped the catch, on the long-on boundary.
“That’s cricket, it doesn’t really matter to me,’’ she said.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket and been in a lot of different situations and more than anything, particularly towards the end, I was just trying to score more runs for the team.
“The fact it went for four and gave us more runs on the scoreboard was the main thing.
“If I got caught, so be it, but I was fortunate she misjudged it.’’
Her long-awaited century powered Australia to 7/247 from its 50 overs and it bowled New Zealand, which hasn’t won the Rose Bowl since 1999, out for just 152 in the 38th over, with spinner Jess Jonassen taking a career-best 5/27.
Australia’s 95-run victory followed the thrilling five-run win against the White Ferns at the WACA in the first of the three-match series last Friday, giving it an unassailable 2-0 lead, with the final match to be played in Melbourne next Sunday.
Perry, 28, had made four ODI nineties, including three unbeaten, with a top score of 95 not out against South Africa in 2016, before cracking her first century. She has made 25 ODI fifties
Perry’s only previous international hundred was the double ton she posted in the day-night Ashes Test at North Sydney Oval in 2017.
She is in career-best form, having scored 1039 runs at an average of 74.2 and strike rate of 112, with eight fifties and three hundreds, across all forms of professional cricket this summer.
Perry’s superb innings guided Australia out of trouble after it was 3/85 in the 23rd oval in the first international match held at Karen Rolton Oval.
New Zealand won the toss and bowled for the second consecutive game.
It was on top when Australia’s top three — Rachael Haynes (16), captain Meg Lanning (3) and
Belinda Clark award winner Alyssa Healy (46), who was dropped twice — were back in the pavilion with less than 100 on the board.
But Perry and Beth Mooney (42) then steadied the innings, putting on 98 runs for the fourth wicket — a record against New Zealand.
Leg-spinner Amelia Kerr kept the visitors in the match by taking 3/30, including three wickets in four balls, to keep the target below Lanning’s pre-game wish of 270.
New Zealand was in early trouble with the bat when Suzie Bates (11) and Lauren Down (4) were dismissed with just 26 runs on the board.
Down fell leg before to South Australian quick Megan Schutt.
Adelaide Striker Sophie Devine looked threatening when she strolled to 47 off 59 balls before being trapped leg before by game one hero Jonassen.
When star captain Amy Satterthwaite, who made 92 at the WACA, was run out following a bad call by Hayley Jensen for 37, the match was effectively over.
Jonassen, who took 4/43 to turn the first match of the series on its head, wrapped up the tail to take career-best figures.
Her previous best was 5/50 against the White Ferns in 2016.
“I guess it (the 100) is nice but the most satisfying thing is that we’ve wrapped up the Rose Bowl in the first two matches,’’ Perry said.
“The past couple of series that I remember have been really tight and have come down to the last game, so from the team’s perspective it’s really pleasing that we have been able to play good enough cricket to go 2-0 up.
“It’s been brilliant to see the performances across the board.’’
Originally published as Ellyse Perry stars with bat and ball to seal series win over New Zealand for Australia
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