By Jonty Ralphsmith
A Premier First XI debut, Under-16 National Championships Vic Country representation, and contributor for Dandenong in the Under-18 Marg Jennings Cup.
Dandenong Premier Cricketer Nilakshi Perera’s 2022-23 season has gone from strength to strength.
Perera, a 16-year-old all-round prospect from Parkfield, started the season in the Panthers’ First XI, playing in their first six one-day matches.
In just her second match at the level, she top-scored with a busy 35 for Dandenong in a dismal 109-run loss to Melbourne.
With the ball, the medium-pacer got three wickets in her first stanza at the level and bowled in all but one game, underlining the potential that coach Ciara Metcalfe and the club sees in her.
From there, she represented Vic Country in the new year at the Under-16 National Championships.
While she did not get going with the bat, her bowling proved effective, picking up five wickets in five T20s at an economy rate of 4.92.
She competed at the championships alongside Bandits teammates Mannat Chadha and Kamya Mishra.
Their success is a nod to Parkfield’s blueprint to develop female cricket in recent years, in a region where sport participation in notoriously low.
She started as a young girl with a passion for the game, with her primitive development taking place at Parkfield, and with private coach Keith Jansz’s ‘Jansz Cricket Academy’.
Also in January, she represented Dandenong in the Under-18 Marg Jennings Cup and played a couple of confidence boosting knocks, averaging 26.25 from four hits, while continuing to contribute with the ball.
A strike rotator who looks to pierce the field rather than bash over it, her decision-making is the prime focus for her as she looks to assert a strong pull shot and elegant cover drive.
A more natural bowler than batter, Perera has confidence in her stock ball and is continuing to work on refining that as well as developing some change-ups with Jansz.
Having played and trained with international and state-contracted cricketers such as Kim Garth, Nic Faltum and Tiana Atkinson, Perera has both got to rub shoulders with those at the next level and gain an insight into how to get there.
Part of her development has been learning how to support her bigger-named teammates within innings.
Jansz, a level three high performance coach, is the current coach of the Vic Country women’s team, and has a long coaching resume which includes leading Victoria’s under-17 and under-19 teams.
He notes that female cricketers at Perera’s age have generally played about 2500 hours less cricket than their male counterparts in highlighting the high ceiling he believes she has.
“She’s a champion prospect who’s dedicated to improving,” he said, adding that he believes she has the scope to become a regular First XI contributor at Dandenong.
“We’ve got to get her a bit more ruthless on the field.
“That will come with maturity.
“I’ve been helping her with how to approach various situations she might encounter.
“Her understanding of the game and decision-making has developed and will continue to.”
