PERRY RELISHING OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO FAMILIAR TERRITORY IN SOUTHAMPTON

Media release

• Australian all-rounder played domestic cricket for Hampshire in 2025
• Perry is set for her 50th ICC Women’s T20 World Cup game against the Netherlands
• The Dutch are looking to learn from their defeat to India last time out

Ellyse Perry is looking to make the most of her inside knowledge of Southampton when Australia take on the Netherlands in their third game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Perry spent last summer playing domestic cricket for Hampshire and will be back in familiar territory in the game at the Hampshire Bowl.

With two wins already under their belts, the Australians have hit the ground running in England, with Perry named Player of the Match for her all-round performance in the most recent win over Bangladesh, taking two wickets and scoring 19 not out in a nine-wicket success.

Having travelled down from Leeds to the south coast for this third game, she is relishing the chance to take on a new opponent in the Netherlands.

She said: “It's lovely to be back. It's probably one of our first blue skies for a little while as well, so it’s quite like Hampshire to put on the weather.

“I think typically it's a great wicket here, really nice place to play cricket, and we've had some really great matches here over the years, so it's always nice coming back.

“It's a great ground for batting, but equally gets a good purchase off the wicket from a bowling perspective. It runs fast on a sunny day, it's lovely to be out there. So I think everyone's excited for this one.

“I think the growth of the game is so important and looking at the horizon as well with the Olympics coming up, the more nations that we have playing cricket and also competing strongly is super important.

“You've got to work exceptionally hard to scout well against teams that you haven't played a lot against. The Netherlands are particularly one of them for us. So I think that's really cool and it bodes so well for the future. I think it's such a wonderful sport, and I think the more we can expose that to different parts of the world, the better.”

Meanwhile, Dutch coach Neil MacRae insists his side will channel the lessons learned from defeat to India in Saturday’s encounter.

The Dutch were beaten by 95 runs by India on Wednesday, as Smriti Mandhana’s 74 helped her side to an insurmountable total for the associate nation to chase.

But coming up against the highest-ranked sides in the world is exactly what MacRae’s players want from their time at the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and there is no side ranked higher than Australia in women’s T20 cricket.

The six-time champions have started their campaign to win back the title in imperious fashion, with comfortable wins against South Africa and Bangladesh in their first two matches and MacRae is excited about the prospect of facing them.

“I think Australia are rightly ranked number one in the world,” said MacRae. “So I think when we go to play Australia, we certainly will have that spirit. That's the reason we're here.

“For what the girls have had to overcome in terms of the challenges of being an associate nation and a minority sport in the Netherlands, to actually reach a World Cup is an incredible achievement in itself, and it is purely down to the team spirit and the pride and gratitude of the Netherlands.

“We will need all of that against Australia, who are clearly a very strong outfit, and we've got some lessons to learn from today which we can hopefully take into that game on Saturday.”

The Netherlands went toe-to-toe with India for parts of their meeting at Headingley on Wednesday, but were unable to truly get up to speed in their chase of 209.

But MacRae knows his side will take the positives and the improvements from that defeat as they look to cause an almighty upset at the Hampshire Bowl.

He added: “We have to understand at this level of cricket that when we have a good period in the game, it's not enough just to do it for a few balls or a couple of overs.

“We have to be able to extend that as long as possible and just keep repeating basic skills. With the bat, we've got to be brave enough to attack.

“We've got to be prepared to take our scoring options straight away, not wait a few balls. We won't get as many loose balls against this level of side.

“There are some lessons there, but there are certainly some positives to build on as well.”