Ellyse Perry

“I play sport all the time.”

“One of the main things I take away is just the way the boys approach the game and carry on. You are in the dressing room and it is very much just about getting in and doing as well as you can, putting everything you can and having fun. There is no underlying context to it other than just playing the game.”

“I'm not a particularly extroverted person.”

“For me it was always about enjoying what I was doing and trying to get better, playing more and more sport.”

“There's two extremes in male sport: there's complete and total worship of them, or complete and utter contempt. Those extremes create huge problems at either end. And it creates distance, too, and leads them into a bubble.”

“I'd grown up knowing all about Don Bradman and visited his museum in Bowral quite a few times and absolutely loved the place and then to go back there and receive my baggy green and play my first Test match there at the oval, and obviously my parents were there and a lot of family and friends, it was really cool.”

“But, without a doubt, my favourite thing? It's sitting in a change room like this after a match. There's no time frame on how long you'll sit there. There's no formality. You're just enjoying each other's company, thinking about cricket.”

“When I'm away from sport and not doing something I have much self-belief in, I can lack self-confidence at times.”

“It's no secret that I'm a fan of hitting a lot of balls.”

“My dad is my hero. We have a strong relationship around sport. It has been such a big part of his life and now mine, and for him to be one of my coaches is a great thing.”

“A lot has evolved and changed in women's sport in the last 10 years - particularly football and cricket. So, I think my timing, in terms of being able to play both for a while, was fortunate.”

“More girls are taking up sport and realising it's a legitimate option for them to forge a career.”

“One of my favourite parts of training is doing it with Dad in the local nets. When I do that, I feel like a kid again. We never argue. He has to put up with some bad moods from me when I'm not hitting it as I'd like. He's very placid. He's not a pushy parent at all.”

“Sometimes I need people around me to remind me, to keep enjoying the small things.”

“When I started out there weren't even contracts for players and now all the girls on the team are full-time professional athletes, I guess seeing that evolve over a period of time has been incredible.”

“If I have to do a speech, if there's no way I can get out of it, or if it's something I really should do, I won't sleep the night before. I'll feel ill the entire day leading up to it. I won't be able to eat if it's after a dinner, which makes things even worse.”

“Being together on the field as a group, operating as a team, making important plays is a great thing.”

“I play cricket. I'm a professional cricketer and I guess my job is to hopefully help Australia win games of cricket.”

“I think a lot of sporting organisations are really sitting up and taking notice, putting in some great programs and investing a lot into women's sports.”

“I think most girls would say they'd love to play more Tests if it was possible.”