National captain Alyssa Healy will hang up the gloves after a decorated career for both Australia and Sydney Sixers
Australian captain Alyssa Healy, a member of the WBBL’s Team of the Decade, has announced she will retire from all cricket at the end of the Australian summer, bringing to a close a decorated 11-year Big Bash career.
Healy today confirmed she will retire from all formats of international and domestic cricket following the multi-format series against India, which concludes with the Test match at Perth’s WACA Ground from March 6.
“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.
Alyssa Healy WBBL career
Matches 129 | Runs 3125 | Ave 25.82 | SR 133.71 | HS 112no | 100s 5 | 50s 15 | Ct 60 | St 45
“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.”
Healy, the most prolific ‘keeper in the women’s international game with 269 dismissals, as well as one of Australia’s most productive all-format run-scorers (7,106), will also finish up in domestic and franchise cricket.
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, but she has played her last match for the Sixers, scoring a solitary single and taking a catch in their Weber WBBL|11 Challenger loss to Perth Scorchers.
The 35-year-old said the past few years had been “mentally draining” given her frequent run-ins with injury, which included missing the start of last year’s WBBL|11 season with a fractured thumb.
She also began the previous WBBL campaign in a moonboot after injuring her right foot, while her WBBL|09 tournament was ended after just one game when she suffered significant damage to her right index finger trying to separate her two dogs.
A founding Sydney Sixers player and a two-time Big Bash champion, Healy finishes her WBBL career as one of six batters to pass 3,000 runs. Her five centuries are the equal most for an individual in the competition alongside Lizelle Lee.
Behind the stumps she has been just as prolific, with her 103 dismissals for the Sixers behind only Beth Mooney (124) and Georgia Redmayne (115) for wicketkeepers in the WBBL.
She also led the Sixers to their inaugural women’s title in WBBL|02.
“‘Midge’ (Healy) is an icon of our club, our game and of sport in this country,” said Sixers general manager and former teammate Rachael Haynes.
“As a one club player and an inaugural Sixer, Midge has played an instrumental role in building Sydney Sixers to become the franchise it is today.
“Midge is a larrikin, a leader and the ultimate teammate whose impact has pioneered change in our game, especially for female athletes.
“Midge leaves a legacy at our club that goes beyond words and we cannot thank her enough for what she has done for us at the Sixers and across the wider WBBL.”
The club will honour Healy’s Sixers career at their upcoming men’s home fixture against the Thunder at this SCG this Friday, where her husband, Mitchell Starc, is expected to play his first Big Bash match in more than a decade.
