Australia left out their star player Ellyse Perry for the first Women’s Ashes T20I against England, leading to plenty of reactions on social media.

Not many would’ve expected the Aussies to go ahead and drop one of their all-time great players before this encounter, but the decision might have been brewing for some time now. Perry suffered a hamstring injury during the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, and hasn’t quite been the same player since then.

The all-rounder’s numbers have seen a downturn since 2020, especially in the T20I format. Perry scored 152 runs at an average of 16.8 and a strike-rate of 103.4 in the last two years. While bowling she has picked nine wickets at an average of 20.44, which are decent numbers but don’t stand out.

Matthew Mott, the Australia Women’s head coach, in an interview with 7Cricket put it down to getting in more big-hitting muscle in the middle order: “Yeah, look we flagged with Ellyse a few weeks ago that there was gonna be pressure on some spots there. All our research shows and particularly the trends in men’s game: that the ability of five, six, and seven to score quickly and get a very high strike-rate. So once she wasn’t considered in the top order, it became a different conversation, and that’s why someone like Grace has come in.”

Still, Perry’s exclusion drew a number of reactions.

AUSTRALIA HAVE DROPPED ELLYSE PERRY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL #WomensAshes

— Raf Nicholson (@RafNicholson) January 20, 2022

Australia have left Ellyse Perry out of their T20 team to face England. Biggest selection call in memory. #Ashes

— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) January 20, 2022

Ellyse Perry left out. Interesting.

She was struggling a bit with her load up and action v India.

— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) January 20, 2022

Some acknowledged Perry’s precarious position but were surprised at her being dropped.

The numbers did not demand selection, but that's a significant moment in Australian cricket with Ellyse Perry being dropped. #AUSvENG #Ashes

— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) January 20, 2022

And many were still shocked at this decision.

Australia drop Ellyse Perry.

This happened in 2022.#Ashes | #AUSvENG

— Annesha Ghosh (@ghosh_annesha) January 20, 2022

I was so absorbed with the tennis, I didn't check the cricket but wait, what
AUSTRALIA HAVE DROPPED ELLYSE PERRY FOR THE FIRST #ASHES MATCH!

Should be noted, her last international outing was the series against India in October.

— Zenia D'cunha (@ZENIADCUNHA) January 20, 2022

wonder which excel stats sheet led to the decision to drop Ellyse Perry from the @cricketcomau team for tonight? How ludicrous. #WomensAshes #Ashes

— Mathew Thompson (@MathewJThompson) January 20, 2022

To others, it seemed a sign of how strong Australia were at the moment.

Imagine having a squad so strong that you can drop Ellyse Perry 🤯

Wish England had the gumption to start Capsey https://t.co/lPo9bnKnvK

— Francis Kelly (@_Franciskelly) January 20, 2022

Imagine being so good that you casually leave out ELLYSE PERRY.@AusWomenCricket are ridiculous 🤯

— Rupin Kale (@Vegansportlover) January 20, 2022