Head coach Shelley Nitschke has hinted that Australia may be willing to play Ellyse Perry short of full fitness with a T20 World Cup title at stake on Sunday at Lord’s.

Perry retired hurt in the semi-final chase against West Indies at The Oval in what was described as a precautionary move due to “minor quad awareness.” Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Nitschke said there was no definitive update on Perry as the team had not trained since their last game but there was confidence she would be ready to go, adding that a World Cup final did bring a different dynamic to any decision.

“Yeah, potentially,” Nitschke said of Perry playing short of a full recovery. “I think there’s still certain things that she wants to be able to do as well, [to] be able to still contribute to the team and hold her own, whether that’s in the field or running between the wickets. But there is that element of, this is a World Cup final, so what’s our tolerance there? So certainly a slightly different lens than perhaps some other times.”

Perry, who was forced to miss the 2020 T20 World Cup final at the MCG after badly injuring her hamstring, is Australia’s leading run-scorer at this tournament with 185 runs at 46.25 and a strike rate of 135.03, including half-centuries against Pakistan and India – the latter steering an impressive chase from a tricky 68 for 3.

That game against India at Lord’s was the only time since the early stages of the opening clash with South Africa when Australia have really been challenged on their run to the final where they will face either England or South Africa again.

Nitschke has been delighted with the varying contributions throughout the squad to reach this point. Seven half-centuries have come from four batters alongside Georgia Wareham having a strike-rate of 182.22. The defensive qualities of the bowling unit have stood out, including from 20-year-old left-arm Lucy Hamilton who, despite being wicketless across 11 overs, has conceded just 4.45 runs per over.

“She [Hamilton] has been super impressive,” Nitschke said. “I think to come into that game against India and bowl [in the] powerplay, and we know the powerplay is a big stage of the game for them and they come pretty hard, but to be able to have the composure and bowl like she did was excellent. And then again in the semi, she’s got a pretty level head. I know she hasn’t taken the wickets she would have liked and deserved, but she’s created a couple of opportunities though, which has been really important and excellent for her.”

Australia will have a big selection call to make for the final over whether to recall legspinner Alana King, who has not played the last two matches since Phoebe Litchfield recovered from injury, or maintain the same balance of attack.

It will be the first World Cup final of either format that Australia have featured in since 2023, meaning for some of the squad it will be their first experience of such an occasion – including Litchfield and Georgia Voll at the top of the order – and Nitschke acknowledged there was a balance to strike.

“I think it’s just about instilling that confidence in them that, you know, at the end of the day we’ve got to play one more game of cricket and that we’ve all been playing really well,” she said.

“So making it as normal as we can but making sure they also do, I guess, enjoy the occasion. Not getting too overawed by that, too, I think is important. But I like to think that if we can keep all our processes pretty consistent then it ensures that it is just another game, but sure it’s a big one. You can’t hide from that but just embrace it, enjoy it and back themselves.”