The silver lining of Australian captain Alyssa Healy’s injury is she has seen more of her husband. It’s also allowed her more time to spend with her young nephew. Life after cricket now looks clearer for her.
There’s not much that Healy has wanted to achieve and not accomplished. World Cup wins. Tick. Ashes victories. Tick. Leading Australia to an Ashes whitewash. Tick. Kids? It’s on her bucket list.
Alyssa Healy and Mitchell Starc are spending rare time together after a busy summer of cricket.Credit: Getty Images for Cricket Australia
“Having a three-year-old nephew running around our household at the moment – what’s the word I’m looking for – kind of encourages me,” Healy told this masthead.
“I’m excited by the next chapter, whenever that might be, that some kids running around would be a cool thing. It’s not any time in the very near future, but definitely on the bucket list of things to achieve in life, that’s for sure.”
The key words there for those who love the way Healy punishes bowlers in front of the stumps and her deft work with the glove behind them is “not any time in the very near future”.
Turning 35 next month, Healy has committed on the field for next season. If she knows beyond that, she isn’t letting on publicly. But reading between the lines, if you love watching her play – enjoy it while you can.
Australian captain Alyssa Healy addresses players during the Ashes Test at the MCG.Credit: Getty Images
Summer reflections
It’s been five weeks since Healy’s last game. A bone stress injury in her foot means she will not be part of the three-match one-day international tour of New Zealand later this month.
She has had time to reflect on an eventful season in which Australia overcame the disappointment of a semi-final exit in the Twenty20 World Cup to post a historic Ashes clean sweep.
Australia were, in some ways, a victim of their domination of a hapless England, whose litany of woe became the prominent storyline rather than the achievements of Healy’s team. There was the artistry of Alana King’s leg-spin, the power of Ash Gardner and the consistency of the team’s batting banker Beth Mooney, to name a few.
The team’s depth, which she believes is the product of being exposed to top-drawer international talent in the WBBL, means Australia can readily cover stalwarts such as Healy and Ellyse Perry.
“From my perspective, it was a bit sad in a way, a lot of the narrative in the summer was how poor England were, and it took a bit of attention away from how good we were,” Healy told this masthead.
“I thought we were really good. It shows in that not one person dominated the series. It was a different person each game stepping up to fill a role. That speaks volumes on where the team’s at. Upon reflection, I’m really proud of the group for being able to do that.”
World Cup, GOAT status and the ‘dangerous discussion’
The World Cup is Healy’s primary goal this year. This tournament was one of the bullet points in her pitch for the captaincy to the Cricket Australia board in December 2023. Victory in India, a third in Healy’s career, along with six T20 world titles, would give this Australian team claims to be the best this country has produced – male or female. Not that Healy, or her team, is thinking along those lines.
Alyssa Healy of Australia and husband Mitchell Starc after the 2022 World Cup.Credit: Getty Images
“There’s nothing like that that makes anyone tick,” Healy said. “We want to win series and trophies, we want to get better. We want to make the game better, more importantly, grow the game, and be better individually as well.”
A month ago, Healy would not comment about playing beyond the World Cup, but she has confirmed she plans to lead the team in the mixed format series against India. Retirement is a “dangerous discussion” for Healy.
“Because when you feel like retirement is in the back of your mind you kind of just limp to the finish line,” Healy said.
“That’s not necessarily what I want to do. I feel like I’ve probably retired in my own mind four or five times over the last 10 years. [Husband] Mitch [Starc] laughs at me because every time I keep rolling out and doing another pre-season and wanting to play again.”
At Healy’s age, even if retirement is not on the agenda, she is firmly in the season-by-season category. Injuries have sidelined her for periods in the last six months, and the national team has shown it can prosper without her.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure what it [retirement] looks like,” Healy said. “The one-day World Cup is something that I’ve set my mind to and want to be a part of that and lift that trophy. Next summer at home against India in a multi-format is hugely exciting for me as well.
“What it looks like after that I’m not too sure. They’re two things I definitely want to be a part of.”
Having kids
So too is becoming a mother. While Cricket Australia’s parental policy encourages players to return to the field by covering costs such as accommodation and flights for their child and carer for up to four years, having children has not been a realistic option for Healy and paceman Starc due to their busy and conflicting schedules.
“I would have loved to have kids a lot sooner but the nature of what Mitch and I do it makes it quite challenging,” Healy said.
“With him being on the road more than I am, the reality of that hasn’t been there, even though the opportunity is there as female athletes to have children in your career and come back.
“That would definitely play a role in my retirement to know I’m moving my life on in the next phase.”
Why Sheargold’s comments hurt
Whenever Healy hangs up the gloves, she will undoubtedly leave with the game in a better state than when she started. In 2009, Healy’s first national contract was worth $5000. Today, the top Australian contract holder with a WBBL deal can earn $800,000, and over $1 million by playing in the Women’s Premier League (India) and the Hundred (England).
Cricket Australia gave the Ashes a standalone window after the Border-Gavaskar series and staged a Test at the MCG.
The match crowd of 35,365 over the three days, an average of just under 12,000 a day, vindicates the move from boutique suburban venues that cannot facilitate such numbers.
“That’s 10 times better than limiting your tickets to 5000 at North Sydney Oval,” Healy said. “If you can get 12-15,000 at the MCG, as if you wouldn’t take that.”
As the captain of one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams and having lived through the growth of women’s sport in the past decade, Healy was especially disappointed to hear comedian Marty Sheargold’s derogatory remarks about the Matildas on Triple M.
“I’m not a fan of every single sport under the sun, but I know I’ve got a platform in certain aspects, but I don’t have to share that displeasure with something to you and kind of put down any other sport or team,” Healy said.
“It could have been said about a male football team and I’d probably be equally disappointed that it’s come from somebody who has a platform like that, that can use it for so much good.
“The rates of girls continuing in sport after their teenage years is dropping off. We need to keep encouraging them to play their sport. It doesn’t have to be elite. It could just be at a social aspect at your local club doing whatever it is you do.
“The more we disparage women playing sport and making poor comments like that I think we’re turning more and more females from the game. That’s probably the really disappointing thing to see.”
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