'All I needed to hear' - a target on her back, but Davina Perrin is confident ahead of The Hundred

Davina Perrin expects to have more of a target on her back in The Hundred after a scene-stealing role at the sharp end of last year’s competition.

A breath-taking 42-ball century in the eliminator put the teenage opener on the map as she flayed an attack containing England regulars Issy Wong, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn to all parts.

Having swapped Northern Superchargers, rebranded to Sunrisers Leeds, to return to hometown Birmingham Phoenix, Perrin is anticipating teams to have more plans up their sleeves in the next few weeks.

“I’d say so,” the 19-year-old told the Press Association. “When you’re an opening batter, there’s always plans when you come out to bat.”

However, Perrin, whose Phoenix side start their campaign against Trent Rockets at Edgbaston on Friday, believes her breakout knock to eviscerate London Spirit is not as instructive as it may appear.

“What I actually found was that innings added another layer to my game when teams come up against me because they often cover the off-side for me,” she said.

“But I wasn’t the most off-side dominant player on that day. Maybe teams are more prepared against me but then also maybe it confused them a bit.

“The day before, we had late training and (head coach) Lisa Keightley asked me to go for a lap and I thought I was going to get dropped for whatever reason.

“She actually just had a really confidence-filling chat with me and said ‘puff your chest out, tomorrow’s your day and express yourself’, which is all I really needed to hear.

“The following morning I woke up, I overslept massively and then I just treated it like a normal day until it wasn’t so normal anymore. It was the biggest game I’d played in my career.

“But going out there and next thing I know I’ve reached 100, I thought ‘that’s wild’.”

Born and raised in Wolverhampton, Perrin also embraces her Caribbean heritage, styling her batting after Sir Viv Richards but it is another West Indies great who has given her some sage advice.

“Michael Holding was one of my idols growing up,” she added. “I know I don’t bowl fast anymore but I used to.

“I reached out to him through someone else when I was about 10 and he sat down and had dinner with me and my dad and it was honestly one of the most amazing moments of my life.

“He said, ‘hurdles will come and it’s how you bounce back’. Cricket is a very humbling sport and you’re constantly having to bounce back.”