'She's always been fearless' - Proud family of Davina Perrin reflect on cricket star's record-breaking century

Fast forward to the present day and many in the world of cricket are beginning to wonder the same.

Since last Saturday, Perrin has been the subject of huge excitement after her superb, record-breaking 42-ball century for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred eliminator.

The fastest-ever century by an Englishwoman in T20, it was also the second quickest in the tournament’s history, male or female, catapulting the 18-year-old from Wednesfield into the spotlight.

Even those closest to her, the family members and friends who witnessed her progress through the sport, who deep down knew something special was likely to happen someday, were taken a little by surprise.

“We are still buzzing. We are still getting used to it,” says mum Patricia.

“After the adrenaline and excitement, the last few days have almost felt like a hangover,” adds sister Danica. “We are all just trying to relax and calm down from it all, get some good rest!”

There has been little respite for Perrin herself. After the Superchargers defeated the Southern Brave to win The Hundred title on Sunday, she travelled back on Monday to the family home where she lives with her parents, Danica and younger brother DJ.

On Tuesday morning, she was up early and heading down the M6 to Edgbaston to train with Warwickshire ahead of Thursday’s One-Day Cup match against Durham.

“Her coach asked her: ‘Are you sure you don’t need a rest?’” says Patricia. “Davina said: ‘No, I have a game on Thursday, I need to train’.

“When it comes to cricket, I used to tell her dad sometimes that she was tired.

“Davina would overhear me and say: ‘No, let’s go Dad’. The next thing you know, they would be training in the nets. It’s what she loves doing.”

It’s a passion which has existed ever since Perrin first set foot inside Fordhouses Cricket Club aged just six.

Dad Dave, himself a more than handy player, had taken Danica, five years Davina’s senior, to her first training session.

“I remember Dav saying she wanted a go,” says Danica. “She was still very young at the time and the youngest team they had was under-nines.

“But dad had a word with the coach, Chris Guest (now in charge of England under-19s), and they let her play despite the other kids being older. Even from such a young age, she was a natural.”

So began the journey which would eventually see Perrin become English cricket’s youngest-ever professional player when she made her debut for Central Sparks in 2021, two days after her 15th birthday.

A year later, she became the youngest player to be called up for The Hundred, then the youngest to earn a professional contract.

Yet in the early days, cricket was not her only sporting interest. A naturally-gifted athlete, Perrin won a national schools title in the 100 metres aged 10 and also excelled at squash and hockey. At one point, her school offered to pay for a tennis scholarship.

“They thought she could be the next Serena Williams!” says Patricia.

Neither was she just good at sport. A keen musician and good actor, Perrin regularly took big roles in the end-of-year school plays. Patricia recalls one particular turn, as an Elvis Presley-inspired Pharaoh in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, bringing the house down.

Throw in the fact she took her GCSEs a year early (nine As) and it becomes easy to understand why teachers were asking questions like the one at the top of this page.

Cricket, however, was always Perrin’s first love.

“As far as Dav is concerned, it is a pure love of the game,” says Danica. “We both played but me, I just trained and played and that was it. 

“Dav would sit at home watching hours of cricket. She would look into the best fielding positions for batters and bowlers, she would be looking at the stats and tapes of old legends, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Michael Holding. 

“She is not just your standard cricket follower. She could one day be a cricket scholar. She has a genuine love and interest in the game.”

The tapes of Richards and Lara have now been replaced by Perrin’s own.

It is in the kitchen where she and dad Dave will hold regular debriefs.  

“There’s a TV in there, across from the breakfast table, and there is always one of the games on repeat,” says Danica.

“Sometimes it will be just dad watching, sometimes dad and Dav. You can tell they aren’t just watching it for fun.

“If there are any errors it is: ‘How do we improve on this?’ It is never a case of just sitting down and enjoying when she does well.”

Picking faults with last weekend’s century may prove tricky. 

It wasn’t Perrin’s first professional ton. That had come four weeks earlier for Warwickshire, in front of just a couple of hundred spectators at the club’s Portland Road ground. Neither do you suspect it will be her last.

There might not be too many, however, which feel quite so special. After all, only once do you announce yourself on the big stage.

More than 14,000 people were inside the Oval to see it, including more than 20 friends and family from places as far flung as California. 

Charles Harrison, one of Perrin’s oldest coaches, was among the group, along with several people from the African Caribbean Engagement programme, the scheme set-up by former England international Ebony Rainford-Brent to address the sharp decline of black players in the game. 

Perrin has been involved with the group since the age of 13 and though still a teenager, is more than willing to embrace being a role model.

“She started the innings well but in the previous games, she would hit a few runs and get out,” says Danica. 

“When she got to double figures, we calmed down a bit. But then we looked up at the score and it was like, something is going on here. 

“The nerves came back. First it was, is she going to get a 50? Then, is she going to get a century?!

“When the moment came I think we were all in tears. It was a beautiful moment.”

“The best thing that happened, as a mum, was seeing everyone standing up in that stadium when she was out and clapping for our 18-year-old child,” adds Patricia.

“The thing I have to keep reminding myself is she is only 18. She is opening the batting, facing the best bowlers in the world.

“I get nervous because she is facing these players and a lot of people of her age would be scared to do that. 

“But she tells me: ‘Mum, where else am I going to get experience if I don’t face these guys?’

“I mean, what can you say to that?”

“She is fearless,” continues Danica. “It is never a case of looking at who she is playing against tomorrow and worrying about it. 

“Those words never come out of her mouth and I doubt they ever cross her mind. She’s always been confident and trusted her abilities.”

Such qualities will stand Perrin in good stead for what comes next. 

Her exploits at the Oval immediately prompted suggestions of a senior England call-up, while a host of articles did not hesitate to dub her cricket’s “next superstar”.

There’s every chance they will be proven right. Yet professional sport can also be a brutal business and disappointments along the way are inevitable.

Perrin, blessed with a maturity which far exceeds her experience, might already talk like someone who has been in the sport for decades. The reality is she is still learning the ropes and it would be wise not to place too much expectation on her shoulders at this stage.

At least, with her family behind her, she could not ask for better in terms of support.

“All our children, we remind them they need to humble themselves,” says Patricia. 

“Davina knows if she does not put her foot down and ground herself, she will not go far. She knows the way this business is, you have to be that way.

“Me and dad always tell her, don’t get involved in arguments or anything like that. Let the bat speak.

“When she is focused and relaxed, you know she is going to do well. She is ready.”