Australia’s skipper and dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy has announced her comeback in emphatic fashion, stringing together powerful displays following a long battle with foot and knee setbacks. The layoff had forced her out of crucial events, among them stretches of the Women’s Ashes, the 2024 T20 World Cup, much of the WBBL 2024–25 campaign, the WPL 2025 and the Australia tour to New Zealand.
Healy turned the Australia A vs India A contest into the perfect platform to signal her resurgence. Taking part in all six fixtures — three T20s and three ODIs — the captain stood head and shoulders above the rest. In the T20 leg, she struck 124 runs with scores of 27 (18), 70 (44), and 27 (21), setting the tone at the top with her trademark aggression.
The one-day series, however, saw her at her dominant best, compiling 242 runs and sealing it with a commanding century that reaffirmed her status as Australia’s driving force ahead of the World Cup. After a low scoring outing with 14 off 19 in the first ODI, she followed up with a fluent 91 off 87, before sealing the series on a high with a breathtaking unbeaten 137 from 85 deliveries — a match-winning knock that powered Australia A to a nine-wicket victory at the Ian Healy Oval and denied India A a clean sweep.
For Healy, the numbers were more than just runs; they were proof of rhythm, confidence, and fitness regained ahead of a critical international assignment. Her return also came with the additional responsibility of keeping wicket in the one-dayers, another positive sign of her readiness to shoulder the dual role of captain and glovewoman.
These performances set the perfect stage for Healy’s international return next month when Australia embark on a three-match ODI series in India. It will be the final tune-up before the Women’s World Cup also in India — the marquee event where Australia will enter as defending champions after their triumphant campaign in 2022 in New Zealand.
Beyond her recent comeback, Healy’s overall ODI career speaks volumes about her stature as one of the modern greats. In 115 matches, she has amassed 3,198 runs, including four centuries and 23 half-centuries, with a career-best 170 that exemplifies her ability to dismantle bowling attacks.
Her aggressive stroke play at the top of the order has consistently provided Australia with blazing starts, while her glovework behind the stumps has been just as crucial in maintaining the team’s dominance.
Having last played an ODI in January 2025 during the Ashes and a Test in February where she led but did not keep wickets, Healy’s comeback could not have been better timed. The Australia skipper’s blend of experience, aggression, and determination will be invaluable as her team aims to cement their dominance on the world stage once again.
After months of injury setbacks, Alyssa Healy’s resurgence is not just a personal triumph but a rallying cry for Australia — the champions are ready, and their leader is back at her best.
Loves all things female cricket