MUMBAI: At the North Sydney Oval in 2017, affectionately called Ellyse Perry Oval by fans, the namesake was in fine touch. England had no answers for the Test match specialist. When she brought up her 150 in the first-ever Pink Ball Test, there was no huge celebration. Just acknowledgement of the crowd and then pat on the shoulders from her batting partner, Tahlia McGrath, amidst the chants of 'there is only one Ellyse Perry' from the Richies, Australia's loud and proud cricket supporters.
They were right then and even when there were not many Australian fans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on day three of the one-off Test against India, many would agree that 'There is still only one Ellyse Perry'. However, her batting partner from the 2017 Ashes is getting closer to the stature Perry has achieved, at least in the longest format of the game. Usually, the conversations about filling the shoes of big players come at the end of their innings, but for Perry, it started when McGrath made it to the international level and over the years, she has consolidated her position. McGrath with her, 'heir apparent' tag has come a long way.
"I think, that description is doing a huge disservice to T-Mac. She is an absolutely wonderful player on her own, right?," Perry told the media after the third day's play in Mumbai where she and McGrath stitched a 74-run partnership to help Australia take a lead of 46 runs as the visitors finished the day on 223/5 after dismissing India for 406 in the first innings. "She has had some wonderful years in the last little bit, I think, you know, the contribution she makes to our group with both the bat and ball across all three formats has been so pivotal. She's also vice-captain of the team. She's just a really cool head. She is great to bat with. I think she keeps things really kind of calm out there and I enjoyed the partnership today. We had like a really clear plan. We both felt confident with the way we were going about it. She is a huge player and of stature, in our team," she added.
That is a big praise coming from someone like Perry, who added another feather to her cap in Mumbai today when she went past Belinda Clark to become the highest run-scorer for Australia in the format, just behind Karen Rolton. And McGrath has earned every bit of it, especially after her half-ton in the second innings against India. To start with, it was her first half-century in the second innings after four matches. Her highest-ever Test score, 73, that too against the side that heavily employed spin knowing how much the Australian vice-captain struggled against it in the first innings.
McGrath struggled, she even survived a few close LBW calls. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur tried every trick in the book to get her wicket. However, the partnership between the master of her craft and the apprentice continued. Even after Perry's fall, McGrath kept digging with her captain, Alyssa Healy. This partnership from the leadership duo lasted for more balls than the one with Perry, and it gave Australia the lead. With her half-century, McGrath became the first visiting player to score half-centuries in both innings against India — a massive achievement, indeed.
Perry's baggy green, the Test cap adored by everyone who plays the longest format for the team, still looks like one in mint condition because she has played only 12 Tests, however, her helmet is as faded as it could get. No one really knows how many Tests she has left in her, but even after Perry, Australia has someone who can take the legacy forward. McGrath has proved it. Again.
SCOREBOARD
Australia 1st innings: 219; India Women 1st Innings (O/n 376/7): Deepti b Garth 78, Vastrakar c Garth b Sutherland 47, Renuka c Gardner b Sutherland 8, Gayakwad n.o 0; Extras (b 15, lb 5, nb 4) 24; Total (all out in 126.3 ovs) 406; FoW: 8-396, 9-402; Bowling: Cheatle 9-3-23-0, Garth 14-2-58-2, Perry 4-0-31-0, Gardner 41-7-100-4, Jonassen 18-4-42-1, Sutherland 11.3-2-41-2, King 19-1-69-0, McGrath 10-2-22-0; Australia 2nd Innings: Mooney run out (Ghosh) 33, Litchfield b Rana 18, Perry c †Bhatia b Rana 45, McGrath b Kaur 73, Healy (c)† lbw b Kaur 32, Sutherland (batting) 12, Gardner (batting) 7; Extras (b 10, lb 3) 13; TOTAL (For five wickets in 90 ovs) 233; FoW: 1-49, 2-56, 3-140, 4-206, 5-221; Bowling: Renuka 8-3-22-0, Vastrakar 8-0-36-0, Rana 17-3-54-2, Deepti 19-5-30-0, Gayakwad 27-10-42-0, Rodrigues 2-0-13-0, Kaur 9-0-23-2.