Melbourne: Star Aussie all-rounder Ellyse Perry's participation in the remaining World Cup seems to be doubtful after the 29-year-old cricketer suffered a right hamstring injury while fielding during the win over New Zealand at Junction Oval.
Perry fielded a ball at mid-off and threw in one motion, off-balance, trying to run out New Zealand captain Sophie Devine. She immediately crumpled to the ground clutching her right hamstring and hobbled off with a significant limp.She did not field for the remainder of the match and was set to have a scan in Melbourne on Monday night before the team headed to Sydney on Tuesday.
Australia skipper Meg Lanning was uncertain of the extent of the injury after the match.
"We're not sure at the moment. It's a hamstring, but what the extent of it is we're not sure. It's really unfortunate for her to have to go off. She's a really tough player and we'll just have to see what pans out over the next couple of days," Lanning said after defeating New Zealand by four runs to proceed to the semifinal.
Lanning was also confident that the Oz team could cover Perry's potential absence. "She's obviously been a massive part of our squad and our team for a long time," Lanning said. "You can't replace her but we've got 15 players here who can do a job and you need a squad to win a World Cup. You can't rely on one or two players and the same XI each game. We're going to have to use the depth that we've got and we've said we've got a lot of depth. I believe that and we're just going to have to use it and that's just the reality of it."
Australia will now face either England or South Africa in the semifinals. India also qualified from Group A along with the hosts while England and the Proteas bagged top-spots in Group B.
