Women's cricket could get on par with men's, says Ellyse Perry
Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry feels that women's cricket can get on par with the men's game, saying that the Women's Big Bash League has elevated the popularity of their performances.
The Women's Big Bash League conducted last summer was an unquestionable success. The overall player payment pool for women cricketers in the elite circuit grew from $2.36 million to $4.23 million.
Perry, who has been playing international cricket for almost a decade now, feels that the game has come a long way since her debut.
“I think it’s fair to say as a whole women’s sport in Australia and globally has come a long way since I started playing. I think when I first started there weren’t even contracts for players and now it’s at a level where it’s very close to being full-time professional,” she told foxsports.com.au.
“The interest in the game from the general public and the media is at a much higher level too. It’s come a long way and the exciting thing is I think there’s a lot of growth and development to come. There’s no reason why it can’t match the men’s game and continue to progress with the rest of Australian sport.”
The first edition of the WBBL was a huge success and it surpassed all expectations, with record stadium attendance and television viewership. The match between Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Renegades played at the Etihad Stadium had a crowd of 14,661, while the Sydney derby garnered 12,220 spectators and a TV audience of 496,000, becoming the number one in that time slot across all other channels.
Also read: Why it is time to start a women's IPL
“It was really pleasing to see just how successful it was and how much interest it garnered from the public and the media. It was really lovely to be involved in something like that. I think everyone was really proud that it did as well as it did," said Perry, who captained the finalists Sydney Sixers in the tournament.
Thunders, led by Alex Blackwell, won the inaugural season, beating the Sixers by three wickets in Melbourne.
She feels T20s have made a massive impact on women's cricket and went on to list the perks of the format. "(Twenty20 cricket has) played a huge role to date just in terms of being able to put it on TV as well as playing double headers with men's games at international and domestic levels as well.
"It's had a huge impact on the growth of the game, just like as it has on the men's game. It's a really exciting format of cricket, and I think it's quite encompassing in terms of people that watch it from young girls and boys to mums and dads. So it's a fantastic format and it's been really valuable for us," she said.
Perry will be a part of the Kia Super League, England women's T20 championship, which is scheduled to be played in July and August this year. She is one of the six Australian cricketers who will be playing and has signed up to be a part of the Loughborough Lightning team.