All rounder Perry in quest for 2nd world title

Cricketing all-rounder Ellyse Perry has been included in Australia`s squad for the women`s soccer World Cup.

Sydney: Cricketing all-rounder Ellyse Perry will get a chance to win her second world title in just over a year after being included in Australia`s squad for the women`s soccer World Cup on Wednesday.

Perry, who made her debut for her country in both sports four years ago as a 16-year-old, helped Australia win the women`s cricket Twenty20 World Cup in May last year and now has a chance to double the glory in Germany from June 26-July 17. "To be given this opportunity is just fantastic for me, purely from the perspective that I absolutely love playing football as much as I love playing cricket," Perry told reporters on Wednesday. "Having had that experience with cricket and also winning a World Cup I know how great that is and how enjoyable that is. "To be involved in this team now, in a football World Cup, is really special and something I`m tremendously excited about."The demands on top sportsmen usually force players to make a choice between sports in their late teens, as happened to former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh when he packed in a promising soccer career. As well as being a defender for soccer`s Matildas and an all rounder for cricket`s Southern Stars, however, Perry also manages to juggle university studies with her sporting exploits. "The way that I view things is that playing the two sports is what makes me happiest and what helps me to perform as well as I can," she said. "There`s never been that point where I`ve felt like things were too much or I really needed to make a decision." Unlike in cricket, Australia, ranked 11th in the world in the FIFA rankings, are considered just an outside chance to lift the World Cup next month. "It`ll be interesting to be in that position, not being one of the teams that`s hunted or looked at," Perry added."Rather we`re the ones that have got the opportunity and freeness to play the football that we want to play and see where it goes." Bureau Report