"Acknowledgement of how much you appreciate and respect where you're playing" - Ellyse Perry on cleaning RCB dugout
Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry has been spotted cleaning the dugout for her team, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), after their matches in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL 2023).
Revealing the reason behind it, Perry stated that it is her way of appreciating and respecting the place where she plays. Notably, videos of the cricket star clearing up plastic bottles from the dugout have gone viral on social media.
Shedding light on the same, here's what she said in a video uploaded to RCB's YouTube channel:
"I'm certainly not the only one doing that, but I guess it's just kind of like an acknowledgement of how much you appreciate and respect where you're playing and everything that gets put on for you."
Perry further mentioned that while she has played under a number of coaches, her father has always been her coach, right from childhood.
The 32-year-old revealed that whenever she is home, her father and brother help her a lot in practice sessions. She added:
"I've played in lots of different teams and had lots of different amazing coaches along the way who have taught me heaps, but I think dad's just been kind of that one constant person that I've always had helping me out and able to talk to him about the game and go down to the nets when I'm home. My brother comes and bowls still and it's been a really special part of the journey."
Bangalore have not had an ideal start to their WPL 2023 campaign. Having lost all of their first five fixtures, they are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table.
Perry has been the best batter for RCB so far in the competition, aggregating 195 runs at an average of 48.75, which includes two half-centuries.
"We were called the Beecroft Wombats, and I loved it" - Ellyse Perry on her football career
Apart from dazzling viewers with her exploits on the cricket field, Ellyse Perry has also made a name for herself in football. She is the only women's cricketer who has played in both the FIFA World Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Speaking about her journey, Perry recalled how she started playing football during winters when she was young. She revealed that the journey began when she joined a local football club, Beecroft Wombats. Perry elaborated:
"I haven't played football for a long time now, but growing up as a kid in Australia, cricket is our summer sport and football is one of the winter sports. When I was about six or seven years old when I started school, quite a few of my friends were joining the local football team. I went down and played for them. We were called the Beecroft Wombats, and I loved it."
Perry will next be seen in action on Wednesday, March 15, when RCB lock horns with UP Warrioz at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai in the 13th match of WPL 2023.