Ellyse Perry is confident she will be fit for the start of the upcoming sixth edition of the WBBL, after missing the series against New Zealand to continue her recovery from the hamstring injury sustained at the T20 World Cup in March, and is determined to play a full part with the ball.
Perry suffered a small tweak to her hamstring in training before the home series against New Zealand which ensured she would not take part in it, although it was always going to be a tight time frame for her despite talking positively in the build-up.
One of the key elements for Perry during her recovery has been making sure she can return without compromising anything on the field. Speaking during the New Zealand matches, Australia head coach Matthew Mott discussed her bowling role and suggested there could be some managing of her workload but Perry is unlikely to hold anything back in the WBBL, which starts on October 25 in Sydney.
"We ended up taking a pretty conservative approach to the New Zealand series in the hope I was 100% good to go for the start of the WBBL, and it's looking that way," she told reporters at a Sydney Sixers training session.
"I'm not quite 30, so still feel like I have a lot left. I just need to get on the park again and keep playing then all of this [the injury] will be forgotten. The only way I want to play cricket is as a batter and bowler. I don't think I'd offer enough as a batter to keep playing, and don't think I'd enjoy it to be honest.
"From my perspective I've been really keen that when I do play again it's not at a lower level of capacity than what I'm used to. Besides the little blip in Brisbane, it's all gone to plan, so fingers crossed that keeps going."
Perry will line up in a Sydney Sixers side that includes Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner, Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk. The entire tournament will be played a Sydney hub, meaning the two teams from the city - the Sixers and the Thunder - will have home advantage throughout, with all teams based at a WBBL village in the Olympic Park.
"The hub poses lots of really great opportunities for every team and some new challenges," Perry said. "Keeping fresh and getting over the monotony of being in the same place for an extending period will be tough, but think there's some great bonus there in terms of spending a lot of time together."