Perry hails next crop of Aussie stars following T20WC success

Ellyse Perry, who has featured in every T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2009, had high praise for Australia's young stars who played a key role in charging the team's successful campaign in the 2026 edition.

The likes of Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll enjoyed outstanding campaigns and proved themselves to be stars in the making.

Litchfield scored 126 runs in four matches, including a blistering 50 off just 24 balls against South Africa and a composed 48 in the final against England. Voll also enjoyed an impressive tournament, amassing 130 runs in seven matches at a strong strike rate of 141.30.

“We've got some amazingly talented players in our group and, yeah, I was just looking at what Phoebe [Litchfield] did in that final, she had a bit of a disrupted campaign with a quad injury and then she just came out in the final and played this, like, phenomenal innings that only she's capable of and, like, I just added so much entertainment to the game” Perry told cricket.com.au.

“Volly's [Georgia Voll] just been, like, so incredible since she's come into our T20 side, you know, and the ODI side and the Test side, like, she's just like a duck to water. I'm sure that's the start of a long and successful career for both of them. It's nice to see that level of excitement for sure.”

Ellyse Perry lifted her seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup trophy as Australia defeated England by seven wickets in the final. Yet for the veteran all-rounder, the triumph felt every bit as special as her first.

Australia completed the tournament unbeaten, and Perry said she was immensely proud of the way the team performed throughout the campaign

“I think it probably still feels a bit surreal. I didn't have a huge amount of time to, like, I guess reflect on the tournament other than, I guess, this real sense of satisfaction, not just with the final battle, but the way that we played throughout the whole competition.” said the experienced all-rounder.

“Like, we just, we didn't have a bad game or we didn't have a blimp where it was sort of like we had to readjust what we were doing. I think the way that we were able to execute, like, our style of play the whole way through and the performances across the board from, like, every player was just awesome.”

Perry referred to this particular title triumph, where she played key role in wins over India and Pakistan, as the most memorable tournament win for her.

“So, yeah, it was a really special tournament, probably the most special one I've been a part of and, yeah, to ultimately, like, win at a packed Lord's against England was really cool.”

Perry also reserved special praise for Sophie Molineux, who guided Australia to the T20 World Cup title in her first ICC tournament as captain.

Perry contextualised Molineux's success by discussing her struggles to get back to international cricket.

“We lived together in Melbourne for a period of time and, I guess, over that period, like, I've seen some really big challenges from a cricket perspective and I've also seen throughout that whole time the amazing fortitude and, like, tenacity that she has to get back and to play cricket for Australia and she's also one of the most naturally talented cricketers I've ever come across.

“She's got this amazing natural nous for captaincy on the field, tactically, but also off the field and how she brings a group together and makes everyone feel incredibly valued and, I guess, for her to, like, finally get to a point where she was able to show everyone that incredible talent but also just, like, create this space for us as a team where it's probably some of the best cricket we've ever played and we've done it consistently and we've done it with such a big smile on our face”

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