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EXCLUSIVE – She changed the game on the field and now she is changing the game off it.
Sporting superstar Ellyse Perry is set to launch her own line of cricket equipment in a start-up venture that will create a legacy for female athletes.
When Adidas pulled out cricket and left Perry, the first Australian player male of female to register the double of 5000 runs and 300 wickets in international cricket, without a bat sponsor it also started a fresh conversation around the gap in gender specific equipment.
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From media coverage to sport science and equipment, women’s sports have long been sidelined but the 31-year-old Sydney Sixers captain will stride to centre wicket on Thursday October 13 as an entrepreneur.
Fittingly, Perry – a staple of the Australian team for the past 15 years – has called her range … Staple.
“I am so chuffed to be part of this and to help create something that makes cricket equipment accessible to everyone playing the game,” she said.
“There was a space there that cricket gear hadn’t considered everyone playing the game … you still see professional female players looping straps over their pads and with thigh pads that fall down.
“There’s been so much research and tech sporting equipment that has been designed with mainly male athletes in mind, it was my aim to help close this gap.
“But this range was about making gear accessible to all including boys and girls, men and women.”
Perry’s manager Josh White said while the energy around women and sport was one of most exciting trends in the sport industry right now, Perry had long given thought to the evolution of women’s cricket and equipment as the next frontier.
“Pez (Perry) has known JP (from cricket manufacturer JP Gavan) for some time so it made sense to develop a range of gear with him – he has been a bat repairer for the likes of Shane Watson through to current Test player Steve Smith for some time.”
Perry’s bat range includes three models: Loftburg, Oakhill and St Ives – all are a personal nod to Perry’s journey through cricket from where first learnt to hit a ball at Loftberg through to her junior club Oakhill and the nets at St Ives where she still goes to have a hit with her dad and brother.
When the Sixers begin their WBBL campaign on Thursday against the Brisbane Heat in Mackay, she will be using a St Ives for the first time in competition.
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“I’ve been chatting to Josh (Gavan) for a long time about bats and equipment ever since he’s been fixing bats for me back in 2017 and I’m stoked about what we’ve produced … it’ll also be cool to walk out there on Thursday with gear that everyone can use – from juniors through to adults.”
In addition to her new start-up, Perry has also been working on her run-up in a bid to injury-proof her back and regain her role as Australia’s number one allrounder this summer.
Perry injured her back in the ODI World Cup final against England after having lost her place in the T20 ODI side – but there were signs in The Hundred that she was finding better movement.
Perry said: “I’ll keep building during the summer, the aim is to eventually start bowling without limitations. I have remodelled my action, changed my feet and alignment at the crease.”
“I am running in a little bit quicker and jumping a bit straighter at the crease which hopefully will help me stay injury free … and also help with the delivery and what’s happening at the other end.
“When you have an easy working action the ball tends to come out better … that’s the plan anyway.”
Coverage of this year’s WBBL is part of Kayo’s commitment to women’s sport which features a record number of broadcast hours throughout September and October.
The WBBL starts on October 13 and only KAYO Sports will have every WBBL match live and on demand.
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