Alyssa Healy Announces Retirement From International Cricket After India Home Series

Australia captain Alyssa Healy announced her decision to retire from all formats of international cricket following the multi-format home series against India.

Australia captain Alyssa Healy on Tuesday announced that she will retire from all formats of international cricket after the ongoing multi-format home series against India, which will conclude with the one-off Test match at Perth’s WACA Ground from March 6.

Healy made the announcement on the Willow Talk podcast, which she co-hosts, bringing down the curtain on a 16-year-long international career. She has been part of seven World Cup-winning squads, one ODI World Cup and six T20 World Cups, and also won a Commonwealth Games gold medal since making her international debut in both white-ball formats in February 2010.

Alyssa Healy Retires With A Glorious Career Behind Her Back

She will retire as the most prolific wicketkeeper in women’s international cricket history, with 269 dismissals across all three formats. This includes 24 dismissals in 10 Tests, 119 in 123 ODIs, and 126 in 162 T20Is.

Healy has also been one of Australia’s most consistent run-scorers across formats. She has scored 7,106 international runs, placing her behind only Meg Lanning (8,352) and Ellyse Perry (7,607) among Australian women.

“It’s with mixed emotions that the upcoming India series will be my last for Australia,” Healy said in a statement. “I’m still passionate about playing for Australia, but I’ve somewhat lost that competitive edge that’s kept me driven since the start, so the time feels right to call it a day.”

“Knowing I won’t be going to the T20 World Cup this year and the limited preparation time the team has, I won’t be part of the T20s against India, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to finish my career and captain the ODI and Test side at home against India – one of the biggest series on the calendar for us,” she added.

Healy’s retirement from T20 internationals is effective immediately. She will not take part in the three-match T20I series against India, which begins in February. As a result, she will miss the opportunity for a hometown farewell, with the first T20I being the only match of the series scheduled in Sydney.

Why Healy Is Taking The Tough Decision?

The veteran wicketkeeper-batter has struggled with injuries in the latter part of her career. Most recently, a fractured thumb ruled her out at the start of the Women’s Big Bash League season, while a calf strain forced her to miss Australia’s final two group-stage matches of the ODI World Cup.

“The last few years have been probably more mentally draining than anything else. A few injuries, (I had) to dive into the well a couple of times and that well was getting less and less full of water, so it was getting harder to dive back in there.

“I’ve always felt like I’ve had a competitive edge in that I want to compete, I want to win and I want to challenge myself on the park. I’ve felt as I’ve got a little bit older, I’ve not necessarily lost all of it, but I’ve lost some of that,” Healy said.

She further explained the timing of her announcement, saying, “I never really wanted to do it like this; I never wanted to announce it. I just wanted to get to the end of the Test match and hang up my boots and celebrate.

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“But with me not going to the T20 World Cup, it’s forced a little bit of change – there’s not a lot of T20 cricket leading into that for the girls, so it’s probably been placed on me to make a decision in that format and give the opportunity for the girls to prepare for that World Cup in the best possible way, knowing that I’m not going to be there.”

There is no confirmed successor to Healy as captain across formats. Vice-captain Tahlia McGrath is one of the leading options, while Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield have also been mentioned as potential candidates.