Why Ellyse Perry is a better World Cup performer than Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Starc and Steve Waugh

June 28, 2026 — 5:00am

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In The Death of Stalin, Jason Isaacs played Soviet general Georgy Zhukov, who was known among other things for wearing a uniform festooned with medals.

In the film, Isaacs wore fewer medals than Zhukov actually did because the filmmakers felt that the reality looked just a little bit too ridiculous.

Were Ellyse Perry to wear medals for every World Cup win of which she’s been involved, the look would be similarly outlandish. At 35, Perry has played in eight cup-winning teams for Australia dating back to 2010, and is currently competing for a ninth. The unbeaten Australia face India on Sunday night in this T20 World Cup.

By any measure, Perry must be considered Australia’s greatest World Cup cricketer, male or female, with a combination of brilliance and longevity making her an asset to teams led by multiple captains across three decades.

Other contenders for the title would include the likes of Ricky Ponting (three World Cups, two as captain), Meg Lanning (seven cups, five as captain), Steve Waugh (two cups 12 years apart, the second as skipper), and a group including Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner and........

© The Sydney Morning Herald