Stats: Ellyse Perry smashes Australian record for highest Test score
Ellyse Perry notched up the highest score by an Australian women in Test cricket, compiling an unbeaten 213 against England in the only Test of the Women’s 2017 Ashes.
The 27-year-old, playing her seventh Test for Australia, had debuted against the English way back in 2008. A fast bowling all-rounder, she has represented Australia in Football as well, including the 2011 FIFA World Cup.
She went past 209, the previous highest score by a Southern Stars player, set by Karen Rolton against England in 2001.
When on 194, she smacked off-spinner Laura Marsh to midwicket, and started celebrating, assuming that the ball had cleared the boundary ropes. Her moment of elation was cut short, after TV replays showed that the ball had bounced before crossing the boundary. She eventually reached the milestone by launching a six off teenage England spinner Sophie Ecclestone.
Starting on her overnight score of 70, Perry notched up her maiden century, and went about scoring runs in a slow but assured fashion, helping Australia quickly recover from their initial jolts, when they had stumbled to 13-3.
This was her maiden century in international cricket, having scored 24 ODI fifties and one fifty in Tests before. She had been unlucky in the limited-overs format to not have reached the three-figure mark, having been stranded in the 90s on three occasions.
The highest score by a women’s cricketer was recorded by Pakistan’s Kiran Baluch, the then 28-year-old, who compiled 242 against the West Indies in 2004 at Karachi. She went past the previous best, 214, made by Indian legend Mithali Raj, against England on India’s visit in 2002.
Here's the top-10 highest Test scores in women's cricket
Rank Name Score Match (Year)
#1 Kiran Baluch 242 Pakistan vs West Indies (2014)
#2 Mithali Raj 214 India vs England (2002)
#3 Ellyse Perry 213* Australia vs England (2017)
#4 Karen Rolton 209* Australia vs England (2001)
#5 Kirsty Bond 204 New Zealand vs England (1996)
#6 Michelle Goszko 204 Australia vs England (2001)
#7 Joanne Broadbent 200 Australia vs England (1998)
#8 Denise Annetts 194 Australia vs England (1987)
#9 Thirush Kamini 192 India vs South Africa (2014)
#10 Betty Snowball 189 England vs New Zealand (1985)