Alyssa Healy, the captain of the Australian women’s cricket team, who is deemed as one of the greatest players ever, will conclude her 15 years of international cricket in March after the Indian series. Healy of 35 years has crossed 7,000 runs in total in all three formats of international cricket and has taken 275 catches since she made her Australia debut in 2010. She won the World Cup titles – eight in total, six in T20 format and two in ODI format. Healy was appointed as the captain of Australia after Meg Lanning announced her retirement in late 2023.
Healy’s incredible records include the highest individual score in a women’s ODI World Cup final (170 against England in 2022), most runs in a single women’s T20 international (148 not out against Sri Lanka in 2019), and the most wickets taken in T20 internationals by a woman or man (126).
“With mixed feelings, I have to say that the series against India will be my last series for Australia,” she stated in the announcement of her retirement on Tuesday. “I am still very much interested in playing for Australia but to some extent, I have lost that competitive edge that has kept me motivated from the very start. So, it seems the time is right to put an end to my career.”
“I won’t be attending the T20 World Cup this year knowing that the team has limited preparation. Also, I won’t be playing the T20s against India, but I am looking forward to the opportunity to end my career and lead the ODI and test team home against India—all one of the biggest series for us on the calendar.”
Healy mentioned that she has been ready to retire for approximately three months.
“I always wanted to be a part of every contest that I could participate in and probably this has drained me a bit more in the years to come,” he added, quoting Healy in a speech reported by Australian Associated Press. “I wanted to end my career at home, what if it was not that way?”
The India tour comprises three T20s from Feb. 15-21 and three ODIs from Feb. 24-March 1, concluding with a test in Perth from March 6-9.
If she participates in five matches, she will accomplish a milestone of 300 international matches.
Healy has been a widely loved television commentator in various cricketing events like the recent men’s Ashes series. She is the wife of Australia’s fast bowler Mitchell Starc, and the niece of former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy.
According to Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia CEO, “Alyssa Healy is one of the greatest players in the game ever and has contributed an uncountable amount both on and off the pitch . . . We are excited to honor her achievements during the Indian series.”
On Tuesday Healy was vague about her retirement from international cricket regarding her future plans.
“I’ve been very lucky to have had so many opportunities outside of cricket in the last 12 to 18 months,” she said. “But I still feel that I can give something to the game … it’s been so good to me and I still owe a lot to cricket.”