Should Ellyse Perry continue playing two sports?
Roar Rookie By Matt Simpson, 17 Feb 2013 Matt Simpson is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Cricket, Ellyse Perry, football, W-League
Is Ellyse Perry good for women’s sport? Of course she is, you say. She is a young, multi-talented, charismatic sportswoman with looks and personality to boot.
Everyone nationwide (and probably worldwide) would love to have the ability to represent their nation in two sports simultaneously.
However, just because she can, should she? Is it a good look for women’s sport in the country, or does it make it look a bit, well, amateurish?
The reason this writer is posing the question is recently, and not for the first time, the 22-year-old Perry had to choose between football and cricket.
On the 19th of January, Perry had to choose between appearing in the W-League football semi with Sydney FC or the T20 Cricket Final with the Sydney Breakers.
Perry chose to stay defender rather than bowler, and played for Sydney FC.
Yet a week later, Perry ditched the Sky Blues to join her Southern Star teammates (including Roar Expert Lisa Sthalekar) in their quest to win the Women’s Cricket World Cup, missing out on playing in the W-League final in the process.
In trying to please everybody, she has pleased nobody. It has shown that the W-League and Sydney FC is more important than Sydney Breakers and domestic cricket, but the most important day of women’s domestic football is cheapened in comparison to international cricket.
Each time Perry had to choose between the two, she inadvertently cheapened the value of the other.
What if Perry had committed to travelling to Cricket World Cup then injured herself in the semi-finals of the soccer? Selectors would have been fuming.
I wonder what Sydney FC think, know that the first thing Perry has done in the off-season is injured herself with the Southern Stars? Surely, if you want to play international cricket, shouldn’t you show yourself to be a good domestic cricketer, not one who might or might not play on a whim?
It reminds me of the days when many footballers played cricket in their off-season, up until the 80s and early 90s. It just seems unprofessional.
It is an antiquated ideal to just be able to turn up and be talented enough to make it, a bit like the early Olympic runners in the 1900s who would have a cigar on the side of the track as they ran.
It’s cute and nice, but doesn’t seem right in the modern day. AFL footballers cannot even play in local grade cricket any more. Surely that is the standard of professionalism that should be shown?
Imagine if Quade Cooper’s boxing debut had fallen on the same week as the opening round of the Super Rugby – the bout simply would not have happened, or Quade might have been a Tri-Colour from Sydney rather than a Red from Queensland.
I don’t agree with the whole Quade and Sonny Bill boxing thing either, why risk injuries and contract value? Did it take away from their proper training?
And how much training is Perry missing out on, given the lack of obvious transferable skills between football and cricket?
There are some obvious counters to this proposed argument. The main one is money. Female domestic cricketers and footballers in Australia are on semi-professional wages at best. The W-League salary cap for each team is less than 20% of the male teams.
I totally agree that it is not fair. Ellyse should absolutely make the most income from her sporting life that she can; if I was in her boat I would do the same if only for the sake of my bank account.
The other argument is that Perry is generating publicity for female sport. It is true, though I would be one pretty annoyed powerbroker if she was talking about her cricket commitments at a Sydney FC press conference.
The thing is, we want to see women’s sport be just as professional, and with as much quality as men, but when you see Perry skipping finals to go play other sports, it is just not a good look in a professional sense for the sports as a whole.
For women’s sport to grow, it needs to shake off the 1970s notion that it is a gimmick, and show the chauvinists that it is a genuine option for the sports lover to watch. Having players skipping games to play other codes definitely does not show that.
Is their solution to this Perry-plexing conundrum? The ideal is to create another Ellyse Perry, and have one for bowling, one for dribbling. However, cloning is not yet viable.
Perry is a star, but she needs to be a star for one sport, and be identified with one sport. So do some of the other talents, from both football and cricket, and any other female code trying to breathe in the mainstream sports media.
Create some household names, like Liz Ellis and Catherine Cox did for Netball, and Lauren Jackson for the WNBL.
Use these players to create interest in the game, and get people to have a look. Grow the sport into fully professional codes over time. Keep people hooked with the skills of the participants, not the fact one is a quality athlete who can play another sport as well.
- Explore:
- Cricket, Ellyse Perry, football, W-League
February 17th 2013 @ 3:45am
Fred said | February 17th 2013 @ 3:45am | Report comment
If it pays more than she will have to choose. Until then there should be debate.
February 17th 2013 @ 4:02am
pope paul v11 said | February 17th 2013 @ 4:02am | Report comment
women’s test cricket opportunities are woeful. They are rarely offered the chance to prove themselves in a unique way. If her opps were even this question would be something but as a woman, her options are limited.
February 17th 2013 @ 5:54am
Bondy said | February 17th 2013 @ 5:54am | Report comment
I’ve been a critic of Perry’s over time and should realise that womens sports struggle financially with virtually no financial backing.
Perry’s sports have taken her all over the planet and shown her a new world. I tend to reflect on if this was the early 1950′s women didn’t play sport or it wasn’t socially accepted.
How would people feel if Perry flip flopped from either sport and played those sports in front of 270 people most games not televised and walks after 8 years with $ 4-5 million,fair or not.
February 17th 2013 @ 7:34am
The_Big_Big_Show said | February 17th 2013 @ 7:34am | Report comment
I got bored half way through. Can anyone give me a Summary of the rest. Upto “antiquated” … that will do me.
February 17th 2013 @ 9:16am
Matt Simpson said | February 17th 2013 @ 9:16am | Report comment
Thanks for your really helpfuland constructive comment BBS, next time I’ll put in more pictures.
February 17th 2013 @ 9:52am
The_Big_Big_Show said | February 17th 2013 @ 9:52am | Report comment
I love a good picture book. If carlsberg made banter
February 17th 2013 @ 8:56am
John said | February 17th 2013 @ 8:56am | Report comment
Ellyse Perry did not have her contract for Canberra in the W-League renewed for this reason. At the time, she accepted it quite happily. She wants to play both and as long as there is a soccer club somewhere that is happy to accommodate her then there is no reason why she can’t do this. She has said on record, she accepts that she may not be able to both forever but she will try for as long as it is practically possible.
Perhaps if we as a society treated womens sport the same as mens, she would have made the choice a long time ago…..
February 17th 2013 @ 9:25am
Timmuh said | February 17th 2013 @ 9:25am | Report comment
Perry has always made it clear that international takes priority over domestic, and her availability tends to follow that process. She is at least consistent in that respect.
As for whether it makes womens sport look aateurish,it is amateur. Having a duel sportswoman seems to be working in favour of both, her ability to play two sports at the highest level is close to the only reason womens cricket or association football get any coverage. Her playing both works for both sports, in that respect, better than if she chose that sport alone. It is partly through her duel sporting prowess that she is the household name the author wants – and she does it for two sports, in a bigger way for each than if she played only the one.
February 17th 2013 @ 9:43am
Ralphy0088 said | February 17th 2013 @ 9:43am | Report comment
I agree that it does more for both sports with her playing two then it does if she played one sport. You cant ask for professionalism on an amateur pay grade. Until the female sports get coverage and money ( and increase the inferior product of entertainment ) then you cannot expect her to choose between them. I would like to see more money in women sport but as a sport lover, I hate watching it because it simply isn’t as good as the mens version (for most sports). If I am going to spend my money, then it will be on something that has a greater entertainment value, hence mens sport. For womens sport to get to a level worthy of my dollars, they need money and awareness and if playing two sports brings those two things then Im all for elise perrys choice
February 17th 2013 @ 9:55am
The_Big_Big_Show said | February 17th 2013 @ 9:55am | Report comment
I think general sports fans should pass the hat around for Elyse Perry. The problem is she will make more money from media/marketing commitments than she will for her sporting talent. Rare talent. She should be able to choose whatever wants to play when she wants. When Sydney FC signed they knew what they were buying. If they ever were to criticise her it would be extremely hypocritical.
February 17th 2013 @ 11:33am
Matt F said | February 17th 2013 @ 11:33am | Report comment
She should do what she wants. Sydney FC signed her knowing that she also has cricket commitments so it’s not as if any of this was a shock to them. Nobody forces these clubs to sign her or these national teams to select her. They are free to look elsewhere if they wish to do so. Canberra United did. They choose to select her along with her commitments.Sydney FC, the NSW Breakers and the two respective national teams are free to do so if the choose as well but they don’t.
“It’s cute and nice, but doesn’t seem right in the modern day. AFL footballers cannot even play in local grade cricket any more. Surely that is the standard of professionalism that should be shown?”
For professional sports yes, but we’re not taking about professional sports. The Ellyse Perry issue concerns amateur sports. It’s not easy to impose professional standards without providing professional wages.
As you mentioned earlier in your article, footballers used to play cricket in their off-season until the 80′s/90′s. Once these sports became professional they stopped as professional sports demand professional standards. If womens cricket and/or football becomes professional then this argument becomes relevant but until then it’s an Apples vs Oranges comparison
February 17th 2013 @ 11:42am
Andre said | February 17th 2013 @ 11:42am | Report comment
So basically, we’re critical because Elyse missed a local soccer match to play a cricket World Cup.
This could have been avoided by
- Elyse missing the World Cup, OR
- Elyse standing down from soccer and thereby STILL depriving the final of one of its greats, AND for the rest of the reason as well
This would have made one journo feel better, and hurt the sport. But it’s absolutely none of your business. Some nobody accusing Elyse Perry of harming women’s sport is like me telling the Pope he’s erred in an ecclesiastical ruling.
February 17th 2013 @ 12:22pm
sheek said | February 17th 2013 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
Firstly, I would have thought the person Elysse Perry should please most is herself.
I wasn’t aware she was trying to please everybody.
Secondly, while she can, she should continue to play both sports for as long as possible. She’s young, she’s healthy, she’s fit. I think it’s terrific that in 2013 there is a sportsman or in this case, a sportswoman who is good enough to represent her country at two sports.
Eventually, for her own self-preservation & longevity, she will have to abandon one for the other. But heck, she will make that decision when she’s ready.
And the rest of us should celebrate the fact she can play at the ultimate level in two sports.