Alyssa Healy’s list of accolades is the envy of the cricket world.
Two World Cup titles, six T20 World Cup wins, a Commonwealth Games gold medal, two Women’s Big Bash League titles, two ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year honours and a Belinda Clark Award — there isn’t much left for the wicketkeeper to achieve in the sport.
However, having replaced former teammate Meg Lanning as national captain last year, Healy is about to embark on a new challenge — leading her country at an ICC event.
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Australia won a trifecta of T20 World Cup titles under Lanning’s stewardship in 2018, 2020 and 2023. Next month, the reigning champions will try to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive trophy in the United Arab Emirates.
The marquee tournament kicks off a busy six months for Healy, headlined by a WBBL campaign with the Sydney Sixers, a home Ashes series with a pink-ball Test at the MCG, two white-ball tours of New Zealand and potentially another Women’s Premier League campaign with the UP Warriorz.
Before heading to Queensland for Australia’s three-match T20 series against the White Ferns, which gets underway on Thursday evening, Healy spoke to Fox Cricket to preview what could prove a career-defining summer for the 34-year-old.
Let’s start quickly on The Hundred. Are you happy with that decision to spend that winter at home, and did you have a chance to watch much of the tournament?
Firstly, yes, I’m relieved at the decision to not go and play. I probably underestimated what the last nine months really took out of me, and to have some time to reflect and refresh myself was really important. I kept in touch with everyone over there and was waking up every day looking at the scores and watching some highlights, just to see how everyone was tracking. All the girls seemed to have a really good time, which is what it’s all about.
Heading into your first ICC tournament a captain, does this feel a bit different? Not having Meg Lanning around and with yourself in that leadership position?
It does have a little bit of a different feel. It’s daunting to an extent as well, knowing that I’ve got to show up to all the captain’s pressers and the photos. That’s me now. I didn’t want to do any of that stuff before, that was all Meg’s job. That part’s somewhat daunting. But I think the cricket side of it is really exciting. To have the opportunity to go out there and toss the coin in a World Cup is a pretty amazing experience, one that I’m really looking forward to. Hopefully the group will enjoy themselves and also play some good, hard cricket.
Has captaincy been what you expected it to be? Or have there been some challenges that you weren’t prepared for?
It’s definitely opened my eyes to some stuff Meg was probably dealing with behind the scenes, some of the things that potentially were wearing her down. I was only really vice-captain for a couple of months before she stepped away from the game, so I didn’t really get to see too much behind the scenes, what was needing to be done. But upon being thrust into the role, it’s been eye-opening. It’s been a challenge, but one that I’ve actually really enjoyed. I’m definitely glad that I’m 34 not 24 taking it on. I think it would have been really overawing.
In the press last week you brushed aside questions about the LA28 Olympics. I was a little bit surprised by that. Are you sure you’re not targeting the next Olympics?
I’ve been saying since I was 28 that I’m going to retire in 12 months’ time. Here I am at 34. My mind could change, but to be completely honest with you, I don’t think I’ll still be running around then. Also, there’s a part of me that thinks it’s somebody else’s turn, right? I’ve had this spot for quite a long period of time and made it my own, but I think it’s somebody else’s turn to jump in and flourish behind the stumps.
I suppose there are a few people putting their hand up. Tahlia Wilson’s been killing it, Nicole Faltum’s been around the Australia A side and Georgia Redmayne seems to always be in the conversation as well. It must be exciting seeing that depth of wicketkeeping talent in the country?
Even more broadly, it’s exciting to see the depth in Australian cricket. Traditionally, you always think about when there is transition, what young players are you bringing through? But the women’s game is in such a great place right now that they don’t need to be young. The Katie Macks of the world scoring runs, or Georgia Redmayne as you mentioned, they’re players that have been around the domestic scene for a long period of time, confident in who they are and what they can do, and they’re prime candidates for playing for Australia moving forward, which I think is an amazing shift in our sport. The depth itself in the keeping department, it’s awesome. I can’t wait to watch, in particular, the three younger keepers go head-to head over the next little bit to fight for that spot. But you’ve got Beth Mooney floating around as well, which is pretty handy behind the stumps I’d say.
Obviously the team’s going for four T20 World Cup titles in a row. There was a feeling ahead of the final last year in South Africa that neutral fans were supporting the apparent underdogs, South Africa. Does the team feel that added pressure, and does it motivate them more knowing there is that extra target of their back?
Yeah, we do feel it. We’re being hunted so heavily by all the teams that we’re almost playing our final every game. Teams are coming so hard at us because they want to knock us out early. We have to switch on really quickly, and I think that has helped our approach to T20 cricket, in particular over the last couple of World Cups. We need to switch on and get moving and get into the tournament as fast as we can, because we’re being hunted at every opportunity. Winning a World Cup is really, really hard to do, in the T20 format in particular. To be as consistent as what we have been in that format is an amazing achievement. If it’s four in a row, amazing, but if not, if we give it a red-hot crack and we don’t come away with the trophy, then that’s okay.
The competition has been moved to the UAE. Do you expect it to be very different to Bangladesh? And have you ever played in the UAE?
I’ve never played international cricket there. I’ve done a couple of tours and played practice games. The venue shift is what it is. We couldn’t control any of that or where it was going to be held. It seemed like a unanimous decision to put it in the UAE. Logistically, it seemed to work the best for everybody. We were really well prepared as a squad for Bangladesh, and they’re some of the harshest conditions that you’ll play in, especially in T20 cricket, with how much turn there was in that series we played against them, and how low and slow the wickets were getting. I feel like having that opportunity to prepare over there in some of those harsh conditions will put us in good stead for what we might get in the UAE. We’re going to have to wait and see what we get when we get there, because I’ve seen some absolute flat tracks produced over there, and then I’ve seen some really low scoring ILT20 games.
The other big assignment this summer is the Ashes. Eighteen months after one of the great Women’s Ashes series, is there a feeling that Australia has a point to prove after England stepped up in those white-ball matches?
Less of a point to prove than more an opportunity to showcase what we can do. There’s been a lot of talk since that about our aura and this Aussie team. In my mind, it’s one of the most exciting teams in world cricket at the moment, and I just want our girls to go out there and showcase that. England did that to us in that series over there. They came out really, really hard and wanted to put us on the back foot early, and at times maybe we did take a little bit of a step back. So it’s an opportunity for us to say, ‘No, you know what? This is actually how we play the game, and this is what we can do at home.’ And more so than anything else, I want the fans to come out and be a part of it as well, because we know what happened over in the UK, and we got some hostility from the crowd. So it’s nice for the Aussie fans to come out let the Poms know that they’re in Australia.
A few of your teammates have commented on the crowds in England. Were you copping some comments as well as the captain during that series?
You always are. It’s always a little bit fiery, a little bit spicy. The crowd really got into the whole two Ashes series on at the same time over there, and we’ve made a decision to go away from that and actually split the Ashes, and almost have one Ashes, two seasons. To let the Poms know twice in the space of 12 months that they’re in Australia and they’re up for the fight, the fans should be frothing.
That split, giving the women’s Ashes it’s own breathing space and not kind of wedging it between the men’s Tests, in theory should be fantastic. Is that how you see it as well?
It’s so exciting. Us as players have been really keen to have a schedule that’s really easy to follow and really consistent every year. I know I’m going to the MCG on the 26th of December, right? I know I’m going to the Sydney Test early January after New Year’s. It’s easy to follow that men’s schedule because it’s the same every year, whereas ours has been a little bit different and hard to follow at times. It’s cool to have your own clear air, and I’m sure that the cricket will match that.
Has there been much talk about the Test going back down to four days? Throughout your career there have been many draws, mostly because of weather, but is that a source of frustration for the side?
There was definitely a question raised by the group when they came and presented it to us. A few of the girls stuck their hand up and said, ‘Why?’ It’s their belief that we should be good enough to get a result in those four days. It’s obviously still enough overs in the game to get that result, but I think from a marketing, broadcasting and hospitality point of view, fitting it into those four days and finishing on a Sunday night would be really good.
Source Agencies
