Australia sweating over severity of Ellyse Perry injury

Captain Meg Lanning is confident the team have the depth available to cover for the all-star allrounder, who limped out of the win over New Zealand with a hamstring problem

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Australia are in the dark over the nature of the hamstring injury which forced Ellyse Perry off the field during the T20 World Cup win over New Zealand.

Perry was helped from the field having collapsed to the floor after fielding the ball during the four-run success in Melbourne.

Having been nursing shoulder and hip problems, this latest ailment could force Perry out of the remainder of the competition.

They face England or South Africa in the semi-finals on Thursday, with the final scheduled for Sunday (March 8) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The extent of the injury has yet to be determined but captain Meg Lanning is confident the four-time world champions have the strength in depth to cope.

"I can't tell you much," said the skipper. "We're not sure at the moment. It's a hamstring but what the extent of it is we're not sure. 

"So really unfortunate for her to have to go off. She's a really tough player. And we'll just have to see what pans out over the next few days.

^{Meg Lanning is confident Australia have the depth to cover for Ellyse Perry}

"(She's) probably a little bit down. And that's probably understandable given the situation. But we actually don't know a lot about it at the moment. We'll just have to see."

Given the importance of spin in the competition thus far, Sophie Molineux or Molly Strano are likely replacements for Perry, if indeed she is ruled out for either of the final two matches.

"She's obviously been a massive part of our squad and team for a long time and you can't replace her," added Lanning.

"But we've got 15 players here who can do a job and you need a squad to win a World Cup. You can't rely on one or two players and the same 11 each game. And we're going to have to use our depth we've got.

"We've said we've got a lot of depth. And I believe that. And we're just going to have to use it. And that's just the reality of it. 

"Unfortunately, in elite sport, you get injuries and things like that. And unfortunately, Ellyse has an injury. We'll have to wait and see what happens with that.

"But I've got full confidence that any player who comes in can play a role. And we're just going to have to get through it and play maybe slightly differently. But that's fine; you've got to adapt."