Melbourne [Australia], January 11 (ANI): Wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy rejoined the national team as Australia prepares themselves to face England for the first ODI of the Women’s Ashes in Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
The Aussie captain injured her right foot during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in October, followed by a knee injury during the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
As a result, she missed the ODI series against India at home and was restricted to playing only as a batter during the New Zealand tour.
But on the eve of the Women’s Ashes, Healy confirmed that she would be ready to take on the wicketkeeping duties.
“Yeah, good to go, probably I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any doubt, in particular off the back of a rough couple of months, but everything’s progressed probably just as well as we would have hoped. I’m feeling really good. More importantly, I’m feeling really confident on it to be able to get out there and do that job. I wouldn’t be doing it if I felt like I was going to let the team down. I’m really excited to get back out there tomorrow,” Healey said as quoted by the ICC official website.
Beth Mooney had taken over wicketkeeping duties in the absence of the Australian skipper. Georgia Voll replaced her as an opener and made her debut for Australia against India and grabbed her opportunity with both hands, scoring 173 runs at an average of 86.50 in the three ODIs, including a century.
Healy candidly addressed questions about her fitness for the entire tour, expressing confidence in the backup options the team has in place.
“It’s a valid question, and I don’t know the answer to that just yet. I think it’s just going to depend on how I pull up after each and every opportunity. But obviously we know we’ve got a pretty handy backup that’s ready to do the job, and I know that I can run around in the field quite confidently as well, so we’ll just play it by ear. From my perspective, I’d love to be out there keeping every game, but we’ll just have to see how the body goes,” Healy noted.
England too have question marks over the fitness of senior seamer Kate Cross, who suffered back spasms during last month’s tour of South Africa.
Cross’ fitness is being closely monitored and skipper Heather Knight provided the latest update ahead of the series.
“Obviously Cross is struggling a little bit with a back issue, she’s going to have a little bowl today and we’ll make a final decision once we’ve had a look at the wicket and seen where everyone’s at post-training,” Knight said.
In the event of Cross’ absence, Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer are ready, according to Knight, but the final decision will be made closer to the match.
The Women’s Ashes series will begin on Sunday, starting with a three-match ODI series followed by three T20Is and a one-off Test. (ANI)
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