Ellyse Perry has done her best to make sure a young boy injured in the crowd at the Women’s Big Bash League on Saturday is recovering well – proving herself, once again, to be the talented, compassionate sportswoman we all know and love.
The young boy copped a cricket ball to the face after Perry hit it for six, as the Sydney Sixers played the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval.
Immediately, Perry threw down her bat and ran to the fence to see if he was okay. His parents, as well as paramedics, were quick to respond and the boy was taken to hospital.
“It’s never nice to see someone get hit in the head particularly with a cricket ball, I was really concerned because it hit him pretty hard,” Perry said, the ABC reports.
“I just caught sight of it when it landed, hit the concrete and kick up and hit him in the face. It’s coming pretty hard and it’s a hard ball so I think your immediate reaction is to see if he’s okay.”
LISTEN: Alissa Warren speaks to Ellyse Perry about what fuels her fire. Post continues after.
But that wasn’t all. The 27-year-old cricketer also made sure to call the boy’s family on Saturday night to check on his progress.
“I really hope he’s okay,” she told journalists, Seven News reports. “He seemed like a real tough cookie.”
The boy left the hospital on Saturday afternoon and is recovering at home, Fox Sports reports.
The reaction to Perry’s concern on social media has been overwhelmingly positive.
Perry’s sportswomanship was matched with a stellar performance on the field.
The Sydney Sixers won the match at 4-242 – the highest innings score recorded by an Australian Big Bash team of either gender.
Perry, who scored a unbeaten 213 in the recent Ashes Test and 127 not out in her last one-day innings for NSW, finished on Saturday with an undefeated 91 off 49 balls against the Stars.
And 20-year-old Ashleigh Gardner smashed a record 114 runs off 52 balls.
In all, an astonishing 19 sixes were hit across the match and the game produced a record aggregate of 398 runs.
"We're another year into the development of women's cricket," Perry said after the match, as reported by AAP.
"The girls are fitter, they are stronger, they've had more time to work on their technique and get to know their games, so it's probably not surprising in a lot of ways."