“We would certainly be interested” Australian cricketers Ellyse Perry and team captain Meg Lanning discuss the possibility of Ash Barty representing the national cricket team
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Ellyse Perry, Ash Barty, Meg Lanning
3-time tennis Grand Slam champion Ash Barty stunned the world when she announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 25, a few weeks after winning the 2022 Australian Open where she ended Australia’s wait of 44 years for a homegrown singles champion at the Melbourne Park.
With 3 majors on 3 different surfaces, a total of 119 weeks as the World No. 1 which included her streak of 112 consecutive weeks, Barty felt she had fulfilled all her dreams and wished for new challenges in her life. Bidding a tearful goodbye to the sport that she had played for more than 11 years as a Pro, Barty is yet to announce whether she will try her luck in other sports as well.
Having played in the Women’s Big Bash League during the year of hiatus from tennis in 2015 and being a Golf lover along with her fiance Garry Kissick who is a Pro Golfer, there were many speculations regarding her switch to a new sport. Amidst this, Australian Women’s team World Cup winning captain Meg Lanning talked about whether the team would be welcoming Barty if she does indeed switch the sport.
“I was surprised. I think we all were. You don’t expect someone who’s going so well and dominating to call time. It’s a very brave call. If she wants to come and have another crack at cricket [we] would certainly be interested in talking to her. She was pretty good at [it] last time she played. She seems very talented at most things she does. Let’s see what happens,” said Lanning as reported by the Guardian.
Australian great Ellyse Perry also talks of Ash Barty’s return to cricket
Fresh from winning her 2nd World Cup title with the national team, Ellyse Perry, who is also considered one of the modern-day greats of the game for her fantastic and consistent performances also talked about Barty’s return to Cricket. Perry had also represented the national football team at the 2011 FIFA World Cup as well before finally deciding to switch to cricket.
“There’s a general expectation you’ll play for an extended period of time and go for as long as you possibly can. That’s the norm. She genuinely tends to buck the norm a little bit and do what’s best for her, which is just really cool. It sounds like golf is in with a better chance [than cricket]. It’d be really nice for her to be able to do what she wants to do.
“There’s speculation around what sport she’s going to play next or what she’s going to do. Hopefully, she just gets to find that out for herself and do exactly what she’s got planned,” said Perry as per the Guardian. While Barty continues to keep her plans a secret, she was recently seen at an amateur Golf tournament where she emerged as the champion.
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Sarthak Shitole
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