Score a century to win the game for your team. It's the backyard cricket dream, right?
By now, Ellyse Perry probably doesn't have too many more dreams to try and achieve. She's pretty well grabbed them all, and on Friday night, she scored a century to win the game for her team. Dream done.
Perry had already lived out one, as a 20-year-old against New Zealand, when she somehow stuck out her right foot to deflect the ball to mid-on and concede just a single as Australia won the 2010 World T20 crown.
She could have pursued touch footy. She scored a ripping goal at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She has cricket in her pocket. She also has a Bachelor of Economic and Social Sciences at Sydney University. Leave some for the rest of us!
ON FIRE: Advance Australia: Female athletes show the way for Aussie sport in 2018
On Friday night, Perry's maiden WBBL century was sealed by a boundary off Heather Graham as Sydney Sixers successfully chased down Perth Scorchers' hefty total with eight balls to spare.
The 28-year-old blasted 14 fours and two sixes in her 59-ball 102, Dane van Niekerk (32* off 22 balls) providing a handy foil at the other end as they combined in an unbroken 70-run stand to help the Sixers to a four-wicket victory at North Sydney Oval.
What a way to get it done!
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) December 7, 2018
Ellyse Perry finds the boundary for the 16th time to seal a 6-wicket win against the Scorchers! #WBBL04 #WATCHME pic.twitter.com/gx3bobQ4av
Such was Perry's dominance, that only Ashleigh Gardner (26 off 22) was the other to get going, with Alyssa Healy, Erin Burns and Sara McGlashan combining for five runs.
The Scorchers had every right to be disappointed after sitting pretty at 1-101 after 11.2 overs, only to lose 8-58 before closing their innings on 9-197.
After Elyse Villani (32 off 25) got the ball rolling with Amy Jones, the latter helped herself to a 29-ball 57 before her dismissal to van Niekerk began the rot for the Perth franchise.
For Perry, though, it ended up being just another day at work as she joined India's Mithali Raj as the only women to have made both a Test double century and a T20 century.
She won her second Belinda Clark Medal earlier in the year, and her Ashes double century was recognised as the Moment of the Year at the at the Women’s Health Women in Sport Awards in October.
Next year, she will move to Victoria to be closer to husband Matt Toomua, who has signed to play with Super Rugby side Melbourne Rebels.
The only dream, if any, she is chasing is an international century against the white ball. In 100 ODI appearances, she has never struck a ton, despite boasting an average of 49.63.
In 102 T20I appearances, she has only batted 58 times for a best of 55 not out. Considering the depth in the Australian women's outfit - and in the wake of their WT20 success in the Caribbean last month, where she couldn't even fit in Australia's top six - Perry will be hard-pressed to add to her extraordinary Test double ton against England last summer.
Last November, also at North Sydney Oval, Perry dominated England's bowlers to piece together an unbeaten 213 off the back of a 374-ball vigil.
Yeah, she's a star. But she's also an intelligent professional.
ELLYSE PERRY YOU ⭐
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) December 7, 2018
A match-winning ton for an icon of our sport! 👏#WBBL04 #WATCHME pic.twitter.com/JadSVGR805
In a cricketing year typified by the men's side's constant failings, Perry and her teammates have played a big role in continuing to encourage more backyard cricket dreams become reality for generations to come.
"Real affirmation that the sport has well and truly arrived is when we are generating profit for Cricket Australia in very much the same team as the men’s team does," Perry told foxsports.com.au last month.
"We are playing a key role and making sure that lots of young girls pick up the sport and are interested in the sport.
"We’d love to fill stadiums and be a strong commercial arm in every sense. I think we are at some sense, but not in all. From that point of view I think that’s a really great thing to look forward to. I think it’s really possible."
Both teams will be in action again at North Sydney Oval on Saturday. Perth Scorchers will play Brisbane Heat at 2.50pm AEDT, before the Sydney Smash between the Sixers and the Thunder kicks off at 7.10pm AEDT.
