"We just need to make sure we have got soul in this group," these were the star Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry's words to her team before the Women's T20 World Cup final against India.
The revelation was made by Australia women's cricket team coach Matthew Mott and he said Perry played a crucial role in bringing the team together.
Perry was ruled out of the semi-final and summit clash in the Women's T20 World Cup due to a hamstring injury, but she made sure a pep talk was indeed given by her and this resulted in Australia lifting the Women's T20 World Cup.
"Players admitted 'I'm nervous, I haven't been playing like I normally play, I should be doing this, I should be doing that'. Ellyse Perry was at that meeting because she goes in both meetings as an allrounder. She says 'to be honest, we just need to make sure we've got soul in this group, and we look out for each other, be a little bit more overt with our body language and maybe the odd fist-bump and something like that when someone has hit a good boundary," ESPNCricinfo quoted Australia coach Matthew Mott as saying.
"I think if you look back to us in the first two games compared to the last few, you definitely saw a greater appreciation of a partnership, and I reckon that was pivotal," he added.
Australia had defeated India in the finals of the tournament by 85 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to win its fifth Women's T20 World Cup title.
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As a result, five players from Australia's victorious ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 squad were named in the team of the tournament.
Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Megan Schutt, Meg Lanning, and Jess Jonassen were the five Australians to feature in the squad.