Perry reveals why Australia's Women's T20 WC triumph is special

Ellyse Perry has hailed Australia's ICC Women's T20 World Cup triumph in England as one of the most consistent campaigns of her career, pointing to the manner in which the side backed up performance after performance across different opposition and venues to emerge victorious.

Perry said the win was especially satisfying given how the last two World Cups had ended for Australia.

"The English summer was a really great one for us, and successful in the end in that T20 World Cup. After the last couple of World Cups and falling short in semi-finals, to come back with a win was really cool."

Perry pointed to the demands of switching between opponents, venues and travel through the T20 World Cup as a particular challenge, and said maintaining performance through those shifts stood out from her past experiences.

Australia won all their matches during the 2026 T20 World Cup, the highlight of which was the dominant win over hosts England at Lord’s in the final.

"I think the way that we maintained such a great level of performance was really cool, certainly something I haven't experienced before and probably a real testament to the preparation we put in, the staff's input into that, and then Soph's leadership on the field."

Asked whether the semi-final exits of the previous two tournaments had fed into this year's success, Perry said the failure had sharpened the group's focus in the buildup.

"I think it as the opportunity to learn, and often from failure, is probably a little bit starker than when you're successful.

We did a lot before this World Cup to be in a really good position to perform when maybe in the last two World Cups we fell a bit short."

She added that identifying specific areas to improve had given the squad clear direction heading into the tournament.

"When you've got a really clear focus on what you need to be better at and then put together a bit of a plan to improve on those things, it gives you an impetus.

I think sometimes losing can be a really great thing in terms of winning, which is a huge cliché, but I think it definitely holds true.”

Sutherland: "We were so calm and composed"

All-rounder Annabel Sutherland who also played a part in Australia’s victory echoed Perry's view that the previous World Cup exits prompted honest conversations within the group.

"When a team's winning, you are on a roll on and you let the momentum take you forward, but when you're losing, then you start asking a few questions internally," she said.

"We certainly addressed the World Cups as a group, and flagged a couple of things, particularly the way that we handled pressure in those big moments, and I think that was something that we showed as a group throughout (this year's) World Cup campaign."

Sutherland singled out Sophie Molineux's role in helping the side stay composed through tense moments of the tournament.

"We were so calm and composed, and credit to Sophie (Molineux) for the way that she drove that.

"T20 cricket is so unpredictable, there's a lot of things outside your control.

"But the way we handled it as a group, pretty much dominated every game, which is a little bit unheard of in that format and to cap it off with a win against England at Lord's, it was pretty special,” she added.