Australia are prepared to take a chance on Ellyse Perry if required for Sunday’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s, with head coach Shelley Nitschke saying the all-rounder will be available to play even if she is not fully fit.Perry retired injured during the semi-final win over the West Indies at The Oval in Australia after feeling what the team described as “mild quadriceps awareness”. She left the field after facing seven balls, a decision Australia later said was taken as a precaution as they controlled the match.Nitschke told reporters on Thursday that Australia had not trained since the semifinals, so there was still no clear update on Perry’s status. However, she acknowledged that the World Cup final changed the way teams assess players’ fitness.“Yeah, it’s possible,” Nitschke said when asked if Perry could play without being fully recovered.“I think she still wants to do something, [to] Whether on the field or running between the wickets, still able to contribute to the team and hold his own. But there is a factor, this is the World Cup final, so what is our tolerance? So it’s definitely a slightly different shot than other times. “Nitschke said the team still hopes Perry will be able to play in the finals.“Hopefully everything goes well for her and she can play on Sunday,” Nitschke said.“We don’t know exactly what that looks like.“We are confident but not 100 percent sure what the situation is going to be.”Perry is Australia’s leading run-scorer in the tournament with 185 runs at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 135.03. She scored half-centuries against Pakistan and India, including a 38-ball 56 against India that helped Australia to victory and ended Harmanpreet Kaul’s side.She also took four wickets during the match.Australia will play its first global championship final since 2023 at Lord’s on Sunday. Perry missed the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a hamstring injury and is now working her way back to fitness for a chance to play in another World Cup final.
