Updated
Ellyse Perry is already a World Cup winner with the Southern Stars. (Getty Images: Mark Kolbe)
Australia will send its youngest squad to this month's FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, but one of the Matildas is already a world champion.
Dual international Ellyse Perry was a member of Australia's World Cup-winning Twenty20 women's squad in the Caribbean last year, playing a pivotal role as the Southern Stars defeated New Zealand in the final.
Now the talented 20-year-old is one of the 21-strong Matildas squad preparing to take on the world in Germany and Perry was understandably excited about reaching the pinnacle in both her chosen sports.
"To be given this opportunity is just fantastic for me, purely from the perspective that I absolutely love playing football as much as I love playing cricket," Perry said.
"Having had that experience with cricket and also winning a World Cup, I know how great that is and how enjoyable that is.
"To be involved in this team now, in a football World Cup, is really special and something I'm tremendously excited about."
Having named a squad with an average age just under 22, Matildas coach Tom Sermanni said Perry's tournament experience in cricket would be a benefit to the Matildas as they prepare to tackle Brazil, Norway and Equatorial Guinea in their World Cup group.
"I think that helps in dealing with the pressures you have to deal with at that level but I think playing two high-level sports also helps in a lot of other areas, in relation to decision making, etc," Sermanni said.
"So I think the cricket part of Ellyse's game has really, in some ways, helped her football as well."
Highlighting how busy Perry's life is, she will have to make up two university exams when she returns to Australia but there is no sign of her choosing one sport over the other in the near future.
"The way that I view things is that playing the two sports is what makes me happiest and what helps me to perform as well as I can," she said.
"There's never been that point where I've felt like things were too much or I really needed to make a decision."
Rather, Perry was excited about the prospect of entering an international tournament as an outsider rather than a favourite as she normally is in the cricketing world.
"It'll be interesting to be in that position, not being one of the teams that's hunted or looked at," she said.
"Rather we're the ones that have got the opportunity and freeness to play the football that we want to play and see where it goes."
Controversial striker Lisa De Vanna also earned selection.
De Vanna seemed set to miss out on a spot after being booted out of a Matildas training camp in Gosford in May for disciplinary reasons.
But Sermanni said the 26-year-old has performed well during a Gold Coast training camp and will be in contention for the Cup opener against Brazil on June 30 (AEST).
Matildas World Cup squad: Teigen Allen, Laura Alleway, Melissa Barbieri (c), Tameka Butt, Kim Carroll, Lauren Colthorpe, Lisa De Vanna, Casey Dumont, Caitlin Foord, Heather Garriock, Elise Kellond-Knight, Samantha Kerr, Leena Khamis, Collette Mccallum, Ellyse Perry, Clare Polkinghorne, Sally Shipard, Kyah Simon, Servet Uzunlar, Emily Van Egmond, Lydia Williams.
-AAP
First posted
Chat about this story w/ TalkitaSource: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/08/3238958.htm
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz