Australia’s had to face a big setback ahead of the ongoing ICC Women’s World cup semi-final clash as star all-rounder Ellyse Perry was ruled out of the knockout match against West Indies due to injury.
Perry had to suffer back spasms in her side’s victory against South Africa last week and she also had to sit out training until Monday’s session. Notably, she previously had missed the semi-finals and final of the 2020 T20 World Cup because of her hamstring injury.
Stats and numbers
The Australian all-rounder had taken five wickets in six innings and scored 146 runs in five innings, in the ongoing Women’s World Cup. The 31-year-old all-rounder had also won two back-to-back Player of the Match awards (against New Zealand and West Indies) in the ongoing Women's World Cup.
While talking to the reporters, Australia skipper Meg Lanning confirmed Perry’s unavailability.
“She batted a little bit in the nets yesterday and felt okay, but she certainly just wasn’t in a position, unfortunately, to be able to perform at the level needed for tomorrow,” Lanning told reporters.
“Unfortunate for her and the team, obviously a big blow, but we feel like we’ve got some good depth to be able to cover it and we’re going to have to do that tomorrow,” the Australia skipper further added.
Perry's replacement
In all likelihood, Annabel Sutherland will retain her place in the team after replacing Perry for the win against Bangladesh last Friday. Sutherland had bowled six overs against Bangladesh and picked up one wicket, conceding 22 runs with an economy rate of 3.66.
In the ongoing Women’s World Cup, Australia are the only team yet to remain unbeaten and earlier they became the first team to qualify for the knockout stage. They have till now played seven matches in the Women's World Cup and the Meg Lanning-led side have not lost a single match.
In the first semi-final of the World Cup, they will take on West Indies, on March (30). On the other hand, South Africa and defending champions England will face each other in the second semi-final of the on March 31. The final of the tournament is scheduled to take place on April 3 (Sunday).
