Aussie skipper amazed by Ashes blitz; Healy ‘never thought’ she would see a whitewash in iconic series

Australian skipper Alyssa Healy has played with legends and celebrated iconic triumphs, but she never envisaged the day where she would feature in an Ashes whitewash.

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But after leading Australia to an innings and 122 run triumph in the historic Test at the MCG to culminate a 16-0 Ashes drubbing of England, Healy said she needed to elevate where this team sat in comparison to some of the great national sides she has played in.

“I feel like I’ve been a part of a lot of Ashes series that have been really hard fought series and I never thought that any side would win 16-nil at any point,” she said.

“For me to sit back and probably reflect on that, I think this is a really special moment for our group and I hope everyone kind of appreciates what’s just unfolded, because it’s pretty amazing.”

Healy has featured in eight Australian World Cup successes, a Commonwealth Games gold medal winning outfit and also previous Ashes winning sides. But this one is possibly the best given the calibre of players who missed selection at different stages this summer.

“I mean, it’s a bit harsh on some of the legends of the game that I’ve played alongside (and) I’ve played in some really good teams, but this one’s just got something quite special about it, which is cool,” she said.

It was the second game of the series, where Australia defended a total of 180 at the Junction Oval to win by 21 runs, that convinced Healy this would be a superb summer after a disappointment last October when their T20 World Cup defence ended abruptly in a semifinal.

By the time Australia returned to the SCG for the first of three T20 encounters in this series, the Ashes was effectively already in hand and what followed was unprecedented domination.

Healy said that whenever England mounted a challenge in any of the formats, a different Australian would rise to the occasion to slam the door shut, with stars including Player of the Series Alana King and Annabel Sutherland leading with distinction.

“I think (at the) Junction Oval, quite literally, that was the second game of the series and I thought that was a real opportunity for them to sort of come back in and get some momentum, in a sense. That was a real series changer. I think once we’re in front, I feel like we’re really hard to catch. So that was a real thing,” she said.

“But I think leading into the T20 series, I don’t think there was any nerves about how we were going to play, but obviously (there was) a lot of talk about the World Cup and what we wanted to shift. To see at the SCG the girls come out the way they did and just showcase how good they are, for me, I thought, ‘we’re well on our way here.’”

Adding further lustre to the triumph is that Healy has led the team under duress, with the foot issue that has troubled her for an extended period and forced her to forego wicketkeeping duties in the pink ball Test likely to see her sidelined for at least a couple of months.

She will miss the Women’s Premier League beginning in a fortnight as a result of the problem, which is said to be a stress reaction in her foot.

“Unfortunately for me, I have got a couple of months (with my) feet up. I’m pretty bummed by that but, at the same time, elated to have a little bit of downtime to try to get my body right,” she said.

“It’s been a really frustrating, probably, 18 months for me. You get yourself right (and) back playing and something else goes wrong. (I’m) just going to have a look at a couple of things and how I can be better and maybe bit more disciplined in some areas (to) make sure I’m right to go, in particular, for that ODI World Cup (later in 2025).

“It’s going to be a huge load coming off not a lot of cricket for a lot of the girls in the winter, so (it will be) just managing things to get right for that. But I’m looking forward to sticking my feet in an ice bucket for a bit.”

Now 34, Healy’s mind is firmly focused on being fit enough for Australia’s defence of the ODI World Cup, which will be held in India in August and September this year. But given the injuries she has battled, she acknowledged there was some uncertainty ahead of her.

“I’ve got some some thoughts in the back of my mind about what it looks like for me moving forward,” she said.

“Most importantly for me when I took on this role (was that) I wanted to get us to in a place where we wanted to be, in a really great place as a group, playing some really good cricket, and obviously to hold that trophy at the end of it. And that was what I said in my four point PowerPoint plan to present my case as to why I could be captain,” she said.

“What I’ve kind of really enjoyed over the last sort of 18 months, two years of doing the job is what we’ve been able to achieve and probably how the group has come along such a long way.

“ I think for me personally, to have played a little bit of a role in that, in helping drive that, has been really cool. We’ll wait and see what the future looks like.”