Ashes 2023: The numbers behind Australian star Ellyse Perry's remarkable Test cricket record

"But gosh, the game definitely goes on, and life goes on," the Australian all-rounder said.

So is that attitude - and the hours Perry has spent plundering cricket balls back towards her father in suburban nets across Sydney's lower north shore - the secret to success at the game's highest level?

"Oh gosh, I'm not sure I'm that good in a Test-match scenario," Perry grinned after Australia reached 7-328 at stumps. "I don't think we play probably enough to really know that."

Then we'll allow the numbers to do the talking.

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Perry's 99 in the opening match of the women's Ashes series at Trent Bridge on Thursday night took her within a whisker of joining Jill Kennare and Betty Wilson as Australia's only players with three Test centuries.

As she trudged over the boundary rope and towards the dressing rooms, Perry's Test average sat at 75.2 from 11 appearances. Only Denise Annetts, whose 10-Test career finished some two years after Perry was born, can lay claim to a higher average [81.9] in women's Test matches.

Perry has been Australia's greatest player for a decade.

Her unbeaten 213 at North Sydney is just one highlight in a career punctuated by World Cup wins and Big Bash titles. That success is perhaps little surprise given Perry made her international debut as a 17-year-old despite never playing a senior domestic match at that point.

Perry's hopes of a third Test century were dashed by English rookie Lauren Filer, who had the Australian No.3 caught by Nat Sciver-Brunt in the gully for 99, just one ball after narrowly evading the same fielder.

"It's a number and one we talk about a lot in cricket," Perry said.

"The whole experience out there today was so much fun. I loved every opportunity, sometimes things just go that way. It's hard to be disappointed.

"It was nice to contribute, it was nice to be a part of a few partnerships, particularly that one with [Tahlia McGrath of 119].

"There's just not really much to dwell on there. It's just like any other time you get out, it's a bit of a bummer, but gosh, the game definitely goes on, and life goes on, for sure."

Long enough for English spinner Sophie Ecclestone to star at the elite level for as long as Perry can remember. Long enough for Filer to have "brought the game alive at different points".

Long enough for Phoebe Litchfield to prove she is "a natural fit in the whites" at the top of the Australian batting line-up.

Perry's 99 marked her first innings at first drop in a Test match after Meg Lanning withdrew from the Ashes campaign.

The law of averages suggests Perry's batting numbers could stand the test of time, given Test matches in women's cricket are so few and far between.

It goes some way to describing why the player responsible for inspiring an entire generation during a time of sweeping change in the sport is relishing every moment in a white uniform topped by her trademark faded green helmet.

"You've kind of just got to be open to every ball out there, because you see, the game can change so quickly," Perry said.

"We often talk about if you add two wickets to a scoreboard and it looks entirely different to the ball before. More than anything, it is so enjoyable being out there.

"It is wonderful to have the opportunity to play for Australia in Test cricket. It very much is the pinnacle of cricket, both for our nation and also for England. Whenever there is an opportunity there, regardless of what unfolds, the moment and being a part of it is great."

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