Legendary Australian women’s cricketer Alyssa Healy has announced her retirement from all forms of cricket. This year, the Women’s T20 World Cup will be held, and Healy’s retirement ahead of that important tournament has dealt a major blow to Australian cricket and its fans. She has stated that she will retire after March 2026. The 35-year-old will play her last international match against India.
Alyssa Healy concluded her career as an Australian legend
The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman revealed the news on the Willow Talk podcast on January 12. In her statement, Healy said, “The upcoming series against India will be my last for Australia. I still have a passion for playing for Australia, but somewhere along the line, I’ve lost the competitive spirit that’s driven me to play cricket since the beginning. So, I feel now is the right time to retire.”
Healy was appointed full-time captain in 2023, replacing Meg Lanning. She will not play in the T20I matches of the India series so that Australia can begin preparations for the T20 World Cup later this year. She will play in the ODI series and then conclude her career by playing in the day-night Test match in Perth from March 6-9. This will be her 11th Test match. Australia will play under a new captain in the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup.
Healy made her debut for Australia in February 2010 at the age of 19. She has scored over 3563 runs in 123 ODIs. In 162 T20Is, she has scored 3054 runs at an average of 25.45, with a career-best score of 148 not out. This is the highest individual score by any player in Full Member teams. She is the second-highest T20I player for Australia.
Major achievements
She won the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2023, and the ODI World Cup in 2013 and 2022. Healy was also the ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2019.