Ellyse Perry suffered her first-ever duck in the Women’s Premier League in India on Thursday night as Royal Challengers Bangalore slumped to a third-consecutive loss in worrying scenes. It came amid massive news that the Australian cricket star is set to move back to NSW next season after spending the past six years in Victoria.

Perry was dismissed by compatriot Ash Gardner for 0 on Thursday night, before Gardner peeled off 58 off 31 balls to secure a six-wicket victory for Gujarat Giants. Perry had made 90 not out off 56 balls and 81 off 43 in her last two outings for RCB, with both scores in the top-10 of the competition’s history.

But she couldn’t keep it going against the Giants, and RCB fell to a third defeat on the trot. Despite Perry’s heroics in the two previous games, she didn’t receive any help from her teammates and they lost both.

There was major controversy in the previous loss to UP Warriorz when Perry wasn’t chosen to bat in the super-over despite making an unbeaten 90. RCB captain Smriti Mandhana went out to bat in the super-over with Richa Ghosh instead, and they only managed to make four runs from Sophie Ecclestone’s six balls.

Ellyse Perry moving back to NSW from Victoria

Meanwhile, it came to light earlier on Thursday that Perry will play for NSW in the next women’s domestic season after spending the last six years in Victoria. Perry originates from NSW and plays in the WBBL for the Sydney Sixers. But she made the decision to move to Victoria to play her state cricket in 2019 when ex-husband Matt Toomua was based there while playing for the Melbourne Rebels.

Perry and former Wallabies player Toomua split up in 2020, but Perry has continued to live in Victoria. The reason for her return to NSW is said to be “personal”.

Perry played for NSW from 2007 to 2019, helping the Breakers win a staggering 10 titles in the Women’s National Cricket League during her stint there. She decided to up stumps in 2019 and base herself closer to Toomua in Melbourne, but things didn’t work out.

“At the end of the day, it was really very much a personal decision for family life,” she said at the time. “The opportunity to play at NSW for the last decade or so has been an absolute honour.

“Going back before that, playing all my junior cricket for NSW and their pathway programs, I was lucky to do that. I am very much a NSW girl. It is definitely sad but, at the same time, having played for a fairly long period now, it’s kind of invigorating to have a new opportunity and experience in a different state.”

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Ellyse Perry and Matt Toomua’s ‘brutal’ divorce

Speaking in 2022, Toomua opened up about his “brutal” divorce from Perry after a five-year marriage. “It was tough,” he said. “Not fun. Not fun at all. It sucked.

“You can see why it breaks people. I’m very lucky that I’ve found someone now who’s amazing, but at the time, it was brutal. I’m very fortunate that we had no kids and, of the divorces, it was a good one in the sense of the separation of those things. The one unique thing being it was public. Getting sprayed while I’m goal-kicking or getting abused on some social media platform isn’t great, but they’re minor things.”