Ellyse Perry on course to play as specialist batter, says Lanning

Perry is most likely to feature in the summit clash of the ICC Women's World Cup against England as a specialist batter, skipper Meg Lanning said on Saturday. The 31-year-old Perry had missed Australia's previous two games, including the semifinal against West Indies, after she suffered back spasms in Australia's win against South Africa last week.

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Relentless Australia will be out to underline their credentials as one of game's greatest sides against a battle-hardened England unit that will also seek greatness in a blockbuster ICC Women's World Cup final on Sunday.

"Ellyse got through a pretty hard and high-intensity session yesterday and she's trained again today and is feeling pretty good," Lanning said at the pre-match press conference. "It will just depend on how she pulls up sort of this afternoon, that will be the final hurdle she needs to get over. But at this stage, it is looking pretty good. "She can definitely play as a specialist bat and that's probably the most likely scenario. She hasn't bowled for a couple of weeks now and it would be difficult for her to come out and bowl in a final," she added. However, Perry, who had been forced to miss Australia's T20 World Cup semifinal and final on home soil in 2020 due to a hamstring injury, has not bowled since suffering the back spasms. "Ellyse is a world-class player and has shown that over a long period of time, particularly in this 50-over format. She averages 50 with the bat and has a great record with the ball as well. "To have someone with that experience, someone who has performed on the big stage before hopefully to be part of our team is a