New Delhi: Australia captain Alyssa Healy on Tuesday announced she will retire from all formats of cricket following the multi-format home series against India, which concludes with the Test match at Perth’s WACA Ground from March 6.
Healy made the announcement on the Willow Talk podcast she co-hosts, drawing curtains on a 16-year international career. She has been part of seven World Cup wins (one ODI, six T20I) and a Commonwealth Games gold medal since making her debut in both white-ball formats in February 2010.
She will retire as the most prolific wicketkeeper in the women’s international game with 269 dismissals to date across the three formats (24 in 10 Tests, 119 in 123 ODIs and 126 in 162 T20Is).
Healy has also been one of the most productive all-format run-scorers, with her 7,106 behind only Meg Lanning (8,352) and Ellyse Perry (7,607) for 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 the shortest format is immediate; she won’t take part in the three T20Is that kick off India’s multi-format tour in February. It means she will miss the chance of a hometown farewell with the first T20I the only match of the series to be played in Sydney.
Healy had frequent battles with injury in the twilight of her career, most recently a fractured thumb that sidelined her at the start of the WBBL season, while she also missed Australia’s final two ODI World Cup group games with a calf strain.
“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 continued, “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.
“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.
The decision to not play the T20Is gives Australia the chance to prepare for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales without her, with their first match of that campaign on June 13 in Manchester.
Australia will play three home T20Is against India and three away in the West Indies before the T20 World Cup.
There is no certain replacement for Healy as captain across formats. Tahlia McGrath is the current vice-captain, while Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield have been touted as potential candidates.
Additionally, Healy will also finish up in domestic and franchise cricket. She wasn’t picked up in this season’s Women’s Premier League auction and missed last year with the stress injury in her right foot.
Healy is set to represent NSW in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) across the next month for the final time to prepare for the India series.
