Ellyse Perry became the youngest Australian ever to play international cricket when she debuted in the second ODI of the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand in July 2007, before her 17th birthday, despite never having played a domestic match at the senior level. Considered a genuine all-round prospect right from the start, Perry's stellar rise has seen her take on the role of pace spearhead in the Australian bowling attack.

Australia had been looking for a replacement for fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who retired in March 2007, and Perry settled into the role. For a time, that was uncertain, as she also had the alluring prospect of a long-term career in soccer, and was representing the Matildas when the call-up to the national cricket team came. Her future in cricket had been secured when she was in the group of the first women cricketers to be handed contracts by Cricket Australia in 2008.

Nonetheless, she went on to represent Australia in World Cup football, becoming the first woman to represent the country in World Cups in two sports, and continued for a short while to juggle both, representing Sydney FC in the Women's League.

By the time Perry had made her Test debut against England in 2008, she had already made headlines, when, days earlier, her unbeaten 29 that included a massive straight six, and four wickets on T20 international debut, led Australia to a 21-run win over England at the MCG. Initially, it was her bowling that proved her stronger suit, and she picked up her maiden five-wicket haul in an ODI against New Zealand in February 2010. Three months later, she was Australia's leading wicket-taker at the Women's World T20 in the Caribbean. That included a Player-of-the-Match-winning performance in the final, where her three wickets helped restrict New Zealand in a thrilling run chase and crown Australia world champions. She went on to play a vital role in all of Australia's four World Cup victories in as many years, though she will forever be remembered for the 2013 Women's World Cup final against West Indies, when, barely able to walk, she limped in to bowl 10 overs and took 3 for 19.

More recently, Perry proved her credentials as a genuine allrounder in back-to-back Ashes series. In 2014, she averaged 95.33 and was named Player of the Match in the only Test, as well as the overall Player of the Series, despite being on the losing team. She was also at the heart of Australia regaining the Ashes in August 2015, topping the tables for both batting (264 runs) and bowling (16 wickets), once again earning the Player-of-the-Series award.

From 2015 to mid-2017, Perry smashed 16 half centuries in 26 innings. That included a string of five successive such scores during the group stage of the 2017 Women's World Cup.

While Perry has settled into Australia's No. 4 spot, her bowling during the 2017 season lost some of its pace and bite. Nonetheless, Perry has proven to be the kind of player who is capable of turning any game around, and is one of the biggest superstars the women's game has produced till date.
Raf Nicholson and ESPNcricinfo staff