Alice Perry’s world record… Rohit Sharma left behind, becomes the world’s first cricketer

New Delhi. Whenever there is talk of greatness and continuity on the cricket field, the name of Australia’s legendary all-rounder Ellyse Perry will be written in golden letters at the top. Perry has touched such a historic milestone in the cricket world, where till date no male or female cricketer in the world has been able to reach. She has become the first player in the world to play 50 matches in the history of ICC T20 World Cup. This historic moment came during the 14th match of the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Southampton, when Perry’s name was included in Australia’s playing eleven against the Netherlands. As soon as she stepped on the field, she got her name registered in the pages of history forever.

Perry tops in World Cup history
Ellyse Perry has now undisputedly reached the top in terms of playing most matches in the T20 World Cup (both men and women included). He has completed 50 matches between 2009 and 2026. The second place in this list is India’s great male cricketer Rohit Sharma, who played 47 T20 World Cup matches between 2007 and 2024.

This achievement of Perry is also special because he has left behind many great players of the world. Veterans like New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (43 matches), England’s Jos Buttler (43 matches), and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan (43 matches) are also far behind Perry in this matter. Australia’s Alyssa Healy has played 42 matches, while India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur and former Australian legend David Warner have 41 matches each. New Zealand’s Sophie Devine has played 40 and England’s Adil Rashid has played 38 T20 World Cup matches so far. Among all these greats, Perry’s ‘half century’ tells the story of his unmatched fitness and dedication towards the game.

Charismatic career and unmatched all-rounder
Ellyse Perry, who started her T20 International career in 2008 at the age of just 17, very quickly became the backbone of the Australian team. She is one of the few players in cricket history who can single-handedly change the course of a match. Perry also has a very unique and historical record in her name in T20 International cricket. She is the first player in the world to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in men’s or women’s cricket. Apart from this, she is fourth in the list of players who have played the most number of matches in the history of women’s T20 international cricket.

Perry’s unmatched ‘pattern’ in World Cup
The journey of Ellyse Perry, who has turned 35, in the T20 World Cup has been like a fairy tale. He has participated in every edition of this tournament since its inception in 2009. Perry has played a very important role in all the six T20 World Cup titles that Australia has won. As a bowler, she is the third most successful bowler in the history of this tournament. He has taken 42 wickets at an excellent average of just 17.16, in which 3 wickets for 12 runs has been his best performance. As a batsman, he has handled the Australian innings many times in the middle order and has also scored runs quickly when needed. So far 559 runs have been scored from his bat in the T20 World Cup.

‘I can’t believe it’
When Perry was reminded of this historic record just before the match, there was a mixed expression of pride and surprise on his face. In the press conference held in Southampton, he expressed his views very simply. Perry said, ‘Being a part of the World Cup and representing this Australian team has always been an amazing and proud thing. This is a very special team to play cricket. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to do this for so long. Whatever experiences we have gained in this journey of T20 World Cup, all of them have been unique and different in themselves. I myself cannot believe that I have played 50 matches.