Alyssa Healy’s return to cricket will come for Australia A in August series with India as skipper says her hunger for cricket remains
Alyssa Healy has ruled out making this year’s ODI World Cup a farewell party, revealing recent injuries could persuade her to push back any retirement plans.
Healy’s path back to cricket will be confirmed on Tuesday, with the wicketkeeper to be named as part of an Australia A squad to face India A in Queensland in August.
The matches will mark the Australian captain’s first since the Ashes success at the start of the year, when she missed games with a stress fracture in her foot and did not keep wicket in others.
Healy has endured a difficult year fitness-wise, also missing the finals of last year’s T20 World Cup with the foot injury and having a knee issue end her WBBL season early.
The 35-year-old then sat out ODIs in New Zealand and the WPL in India as a result of her injuries, but said she has been fit and able to play since March.
Healy often jokes she has decided to retire from cricket five or six times before opting against it, and revealed earlier this year she had an ideal exit scenario.
But that will not be after the October-November World Cup, with a hunger for cricket while injured meaning her yet-to-be-revealed plans could be pushed back.
“It’s probably shifted a little bit,” Healy told AAP.
“It’s made me realise that I still want to do a little bit more than maybe what I thought.
“At the same time, sometimes there’s stuff in life that are a little bit more important than pulling on the green and gold. So it’s just a constant reassess.
“But at the moment I definitely want to play a home summer. I want to bring the World Cup home, but also to play against India (in February-March).”
Tuesday marks 100 days until Australia’s opening World Cup clash against New Zealand, with the India tournament presenting a real challenge for the defending champions.
Australia are gunning to be the first side to win back-to-back in the tournament in almost 40 years, with the team having faced a large large transition since 2022.
Forming a pathway to the ODI World Cup was part of Healy’s pitch when she took over the captaincy when Meg Lanning retired in 2023.
“That was one of my goals, putting a timeline on it and saying this is where I could take this group, even not knowing what I was going to do personally,” Healy said.
“It definitely was a big focus of mine, to get the group to a place to compete at this World Cup, and win the trophy.
“It’s not so much about the captaincy (driving me), or ticking one more box.
“It’s just that I want to win a World Cup for Australia, and no one has gone back-to-back, which is a real motivator.”
Healy has not kept wicket in a match since January, but is confident the three Australia A series and subsequent ODIs in India will have her fit for up to nine World Cup matches in 32 days.
“According to science, the ODI World Cups is one of the heaviest loads that we go through as cricketers,” Healy said
“My aim is to play every game of that World Cup. So to make sure I can do that’s important.”
