Alyssa Healy
Encyclopedia
Alyssa Jean Healy is a cricket
er who plays for New South Wales
and the Australian women's team. She made her international debut in February 2010.
A right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
, she is the daughter of Greg Healy, who was part of the Queensland squad
, while her uncle Ian Healy
was Australia's Test
wicket-keeper and held the world record for the most Test dismissals. Healy first came to prominence in late 2006 when she became the first girl to play among boys in the private schools' competition in New South Wales. She moved up the state age group ranks and made her debut for the senior New South Wales team in the 2007–08 season. She played most of her first two seasons as a specialist batsman due to the presence of Leonie Coleman
—a wicket-keeper for Australia—in the state side. Coleman left New South Wales at the start of the 2009–10 season and Healy took up the glovework on a full-time basis for her state. During the same season, she recorded her highest score of 89 not out
as faster than a run a ball
, and made the most dismissals of any wicket-keeper in the Women's National Cricket League
.
Following the injury to Australian captain and wicket-keeper Jodie Fields, Healy was given her international debut in the 2010 Rose Bowl series against New Zealand. She played in the first five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20
(T20) internationals, but was dropped for the last three ODIs during the New Zealand leg of the series. Healy played in every match of the 2010 World Twenty20
as Australia won the tournament after an unbeaten campaign.
, while Greg's younger brother Ian
was Australia's Test
wicket-keeper from the late 1980s until 1999 and was the world record holder for the most Test dismissals. Another uncle, Ken, played for Queensland. Despite the family heritage, and watching her uncle represent Australia, she said that she did not become interested in cricket until she moved from Queensland
to Sydney
as a child and was coaxed into taking up the sport by a friend.
Her selection at the age of 16 in late 2006 as wicket-keeper
for Barker College
First XI, the first time a girl had been picked to play among boys in the elite private schools' cricket competition in New South Wales
, drew press commentary from various sources. This came about after an anonymous person, believed to be a former male student, circulated an email entitled "Save Barker Cricket Now" in the school community attacking the selection as a "disgrace" and calling for gender segregation of the cricket team. The sportsmaster of Barker College condemned the anonymous writer as "gutless" and maintained that Healy's selection was based on merit. Ian Healy and Alex Blackwell
, a cricketer for the Australian women's team and former Barker student, also defended the selection and criticised the email author. The emailer was also criticised, and Alyssa Healy commended, by social commentators in newspapers. In 2010, she reflected "I'd do it all again...I really enjoyed playing school cricket with the boys and it definitely helped lift my skills and tighten my technique." Both she and Australian team-mate Ellyse Perry
have publicly advocated girls playing against boys.
In January 2007, Healy was selected in the New South Wales team to play in the Under-19 interstate competition. Opening the batting in all three matches and keeping in only the second of these, she scored 47, 73 and 41 in her first three three matches, and took one catch. She went on to end with 345 runs
at a batting average
of 57.50, topping the run-scorers list and was named the best under-17 player at the tournament. The following month, she was selected in the Australia Youth team, composed of under-23 cricketers, to play against New Zealand A, the only player selected before making their senior domestic debut. She scored 10 not out, 41 and 63 in three matches, and made one stumping. Her 63 from 84 balls in the final match was the top-score for the Australians, but it was not enough to prevent a 22-run defeat. She played as a wicket-keeper batting in the middle-order in the first match, and opened in the last two matches, playing purely as a batsman. The series ended 1–1 after the second match was tied.
in the Australian domestic one-day league. She was used as a specialist batsman in the top-order
, as Leonie Coleman
, a wicket-keeper in the Australian squad, also played for New South Wales. She made her debut against South Australia
and was unsuccessful to being with, scoring only 24 runs in her first five innings
. After one month at senior level, she broke through with a match-winning performance in her sixth senior game. After Queensland
had made 170, Healy came in with the score at 5/99 after 32 overs
, with 18 overs remaining. She raised the run rate
, scoring 41 not out from 50 balls, with eight fours, shepherding the tail-enders
and guiding her state to a two-wicket win with 17 balls to spare.
New South Wales reached the final and were awarded the title because they placed first in the qualifying matches after rain washed out the deciding game. Healy ended the season with 78 runs at 11.14. She also played in two Twenty20
interstate matches. She scored two and made a stumping in the first match, and neither batted nor kept wicket in the latter. New South Wales prevailed in both.
At the end of the season, she was selected for the Under-23 Australian team to play a series against the senior England and Australian teams. She scored 45, 1 and 41 not out in three matches. In the third match, she combined for a second-wicket partnership
of 52 with Elyse Villani
, hitting six boundaries in 62 balls and guiding her team to an eight-wicket win over the Australian team. Playing as a specialist batsman, she also took three catches. The new 2008–09 season started the same way, with the Under-23 national team playing against Australia and India. The first match, against India, was washed out and Healy made a duck
[zero] and 9 in the other matches. Playing as a batsman, she did not take a catch.
Healy again played as a batsman, with Coleman ensconced behind the stumps. In the first four matches of the new domestic season, she batted only once, scoring nine. In these matches she was placed in the lower-order and did not bowl. She was dropped after these four matches.
She then played six matches for the Second XI in the space of a week, mostly as a top-order batsman, sometimes opening and as a wicket-keeper. New South Wales won all the fixtures except for one that was abandoned due to inclement weather. She scored 120 runs at 40.00, took six catches and made three stumpings, and was recalled to the senior team after one week in the second-string outfit. In her first three matches back, Healy was placed in the middle-order and not required to bat or keep wickets. In the last league match, she scored 59 from 55 balls in a 89-run partnership at faster than a run a ball with Lisa Sthalekar
against Victoria
. New South Wales won by three wickets despite losing Healy and three subsequent batsmen in the closing phase of the run-chase. In the final against the same team the following week, Healy made 11 from 22 balls before being run out
, but New South Wales nevertheless won by six wickets with more than 15 overs to spare to claim the title. Healy ended the one-day competition with 79 runs at 26.33. She was named Australia's 30-strong shortlist for the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup
, but was not a part of the final squad of 15.
Healy also played in two Twenty20
matches for her state during the season, scoring 35 from 27 balls against South Australia and 16 from 21 balls against Victoria. She was New South Wales' second top-scorer in both matches; the first was won but the second lost.
, so Healy became New South Wales' gloveman on a full-time basis for the start of the 2009–10 season. After making scores of 11, 12 and 29 in her first three innings of the one-day season, she struck an unbeaten 89 against Victoria. Coming in upon the fall of Leah Poulton
with the score at 1/9 after three overs, she hit 13 fours in 82 balls, putting on partnerships of 72 with Blackwell and 82 with Sthalekar. New South Wales reached their target of 187 with more than 13 overs to spare and Healy was named the Player of the Match, having earlier taken a catch
and made a stumping. Her season was interrupted by her selection in the Australian Under-21 team to play against the New Zealand Emerging Players. In five matches, she scored 50 runs at 10.00, took five catches and made one stumping as Australia won the series 4–1.
In the final of the one-day competition, she scored 23 from 37 balls batting at No. 3 and took two catches as New South Wales defeated Victoria by 59 runs. Healy ended her first full season as a wicket-keeper with 208 runs at 29.71, the second-highest average in her team behind Blackwell. In 11 matches, she also took 11 catches and completed 9 stumpings, effecting more dismissals than any other player.
She made 52 runs at 13.00 in seven T20 matches. Her best score was an unbeaten 20 from 13 balls in an eight-wicket win over Tasmania
. In the final, Victoria batted first and made 5/127, Healy completing a catch and stumping. In reply, Healy made a duck as New South Wales lost four wickets in the first 13 balls and were all out for 75 to lose by 22 runs.
and played in all five ODIs in the Australian leg of the series. In her first match, she scored 21 from 11 balls in the death overs, hitting four fours as Australia made 241 before bowling out the visitors for 126 to seal a 115-run win. She took one catch, removing Amy Satterthwaite
from the bowling of Rene Farrell
. Healy made consecutive ducks in the next two matches, and made four in the final match at Junction Oval
. She had only brief opportunities with the bat in the closing stages of the innings. She ended the series with 25 runs at 6.25 and a strike rate of 100.00, five catches and a stumping.
She then played in the three T20s held at Bellerive Oval
in Hobart
. The first of these matches was a curtain-raiser to the match between the Australia and West Indies men teams, and was the first match to be shown live on free-to-air television in Australia. New Zealand batted first and Australian fast bowler Ellyse Perry
extracted an outside edge from captain Aimee Watkins from the first ball of the match. The ball flew straight to Healy's mid-riff and she dropped it. Watkins went on to score 44 from 36 balls as New Zealand made 7/117 and Healy's only dismissal was to catch Nicola Browne
from Sthalekar's off spin
. Healy came to the crease at 6/107 at the end of the 19th over and had scored three runs from as many balls and found herself on strike for the final ball of the match, bowled by Browne, with Australia needing three runs for the win. The delivery was wide outside off and Healy's expansive shot took the outside edge of the bat and flew towards the vacant first slip area
. It would have gone for a match-winning four runs but for New Zealand wicket-keeper Rachel Priest
diving across and catching the ball one-handed in her right glove, handing the tourists a two-run victory.
Healy had little impact with the bat in the three T20s in Australia and two more at the start of the New Zealand leg of the series, scoring 17 runs at 5.66 and a strike rate of 77.27. Apart from one catch on her debut, she did not make any more dismissals. Australia lost all five matches. She was then omitted for the three ODIs in New Zealand as batsman Jess Cameron
stood in as a makeshift wicket-keeper.
in the West Indies and played in every match after Fields was again forced out by injury. In the first warm-up match, she took two catches and did not bat as Australia lost to New Zealand by 18 runs. In the last warm-up match, she was again not required to bat and did not make a dismissal as the Australians defeated Pakistan by 82 runs.
Australia were grouped with England, South Africa and the West Indies. In the first match against England, Healy took one catch to dismiss Danielle Hazell
from the bowling of Sthalekar. In pursuit of 105 for victory, Australia were struggling when Healy came to the crease with the score at 7/63 after 14.2 overs. Three wickets had fallen in the space of 16 balls, during which only three runs had been added, and England had the momentum, and 42 runs were needed from 34 balls for victory. Healy then struck three fours, making 15 from 9 balls before being dismissed by Nicki Shaw
, ending a stand of 23 from 13 balls with Sthalekar. However, Rene Farrell
was run out
going for the winning run from the third last ball available, leaving the scores tied.
A Super Over eventuated, and Laura Marsh
bowled for England. Healy came in at 1/3 after Leah Poulton
fell on the fourth ball. She hit a two from the fifth ball, and was run out by Jenny Gunn
while attempting to complete a second run on the sixth and final ball of Australia's Super Over, leaving them at 2/6. England also ended with 2/6 after a run out in an attempt to secure the winning run on the final ball. Australia was awarded the match because they had hit more sixes in the match—Jess Cameron
scored the solitary six.
In the next match against South Africa, Healy was elevated two positions to No. 7. Coming in upon the fall of Cameron, her partner Sarah Elliott
was then run out without further addition to the score. Healy hit one boundary and was then out for 8 from 6 balls at 7/151. Her dismissal was part of a sudden collapse as Australia lost 6/16 including the last four wickets for four runs to be all out for 155 with three balls unused. Healy did not make a dismissal as Australia completed a 22-run win. In the final group match against the West Indies, Healy came in at 6/111 and hit 12 from 8 balls, before being caught from the final ball of the innings as Australia finished on 7/133. She had put on 22 runs in 16 balls with Sthalekar. She caught Deandra Dottin
from the bowling of Perry for a golden duck as Australia won by nine runs to finish the group stage unbeaten at the top of their quartet.
Australia went on to face India in the semi-final. Healy stumped leading Indian batsman Mithali Raj
from the bowling of Sthalekar and was not required to bat as Australia reached their target of 120 with seven wickets and seven balls to spare. Australia elected to bat first in the final against New Zealand, but was top-order struggled and Healy came to the crease to join Elliott at 5/51 in the 13th over after the fall of two wickets in quick succession. The pair lifted the run rate
by adding 21 runs in 18 balls. Healy scored 10 from as many balls, but was then run out attempting a second run after being dropped by Sara McGlashan
in the outfield. This left the score at 6/72 in the 16th over, and Australia eventually ended on 8/106.
During the middle of the run-chase, Priest was incorrectly given out stumped by Healy after the television umpire Asad Rauf
had pressed the wrong button, and he had to retract his decision. Soon after New Zealand were at 5/36 after 11 overs, leaving them with 71 runs to score from the last 54 balls, and Australia were in the ascendancy. However, New Zealand's chances were revived by Nicola Browne
and Sophie Devine
, who put on 41 from as many balls. In the 18th over, Healy caught Browne from Perry's bowling, and Australia went on to win by three runs after New Zealand ended on 6/103.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who plays for New South Wales
New South Wales Breakers
The New South Wales Breakers are the women's representative cricket team for New South Wales and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League...
and the Australian women's team. She made her international debut in February 2010.
A right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
, she is the daughter of Greg Healy, who was part of the Queensland squad
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
, while her uncle Ian Healy
Ian Healy
Ian Andrew Healy is a former cricketer who played for Queensland and Australia. A specialist wicketkeeper and useful right-hand middle-order batsman, he made an unheralded entry to international cricket in 1988, after only six first-class games. His work ethic and combativeness was much needed...
was Australia's Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
wicket-keeper and held the world record for the most Test dismissals. Healy first came to prominence in late 2006 when she became the first girl to play among boys in the private schools' competition in New South Wales. She moved up the state age group ranks and made her debut for the senior New South Wales team in the 2007–08 season. She played most of her first two seasons as a specialist batsman due to the presence of Leonie Coleman
Leonie Coleman
Leonie Anne Coleman is an Australian cricketer. A wicket-keeper, Coleman played in one Test match and 24 One Day Internationals for the Australian national women's cricket team....
—a wicket-keeper for Australia—in the state side. Coleman left New South Wales at the start of the 2009–10 season and Healy took up the glovework on a full-time basis for her state. During the same season, she recorded her highest score of 89 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
as faster than a run a ball
Run rate
In cricket, the run rate , or runs per over is the number of runs a batsman scores in an over of 6 balls. It includes all runs, even the so-called extras awarded due to errors by the bowler. Without extras and overthrows, the maximum run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as...
, and made the most dismissals of any wicket-keeper in the Women's National Cricket League
Women's National Cricket League
The Women's National Cricket League is the national competition for women's cricket in Australia.The league competition involves the six member teams playing each other in two 50-over limited-over matches, with the side finishing at the top of the table after the preliminary rounds earning the...
.
Following the injury to Australian captain and wicket-keeper Jodie Fields, Healy was given her international debut in the 2010 Rose Bowl series against New Zealand. She played in the first five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
(T20) internationals, but was dropped for the last three ODIs during the New Zealand leg of the series. Healy played in every match of the 2010 World Twenty20
2010 ICC Women's World Twenty20
The 2010 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament which was held in the West Indies from 5 May to 16 May 2010. The group stage matches were played at the Warner Park Sporting Complex on Saint Kitts. It was won by Australia, who defeated New Zealand in the final...
as Australia won the tournament after an unbeaten campaign.
Early years
Healy is the daughter of Greg, who was a member of the Queensland squadQueensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
, while Greg's younger brother Ian
Ian Healy
Ian Andrew Healy is a former cricketer who played for Queensland and Australia. A specialist wicketkeeper and useful right-hand middle-order batsman, he made an unheralded entry to international cricket in 1988, after only six first-class games. His work ethic and combativeness was much needed...
was Australia's Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
wicket-keeper from the late 1980s until 1999 and was the world record holder for the most Test dismissals. Another uncle, Ken, played for Queensland. Despite the family heritage, and watching her uncle represent Australia, she said that she did not become interested in cricket until she moved from Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
as a child and was coaxed into taking up the sport by a friend.
Her selection at the age of 16 in late 2006 as wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
for Barker College
Barker College
Barker College is an independent Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Hornsby, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1890 by the Reverend Henry Plume at Kurrajong Heights, Barker is an all-boys school from Kindergarten to Year 9, and co-educational from...
First XI, the first time a girl had been picked to play among boys in the elite private schools' cricket competition in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, drew press commentary from various sources. This came about after an anonymous person, believed to be a former male student, circulated an email entitled "Save Barker Cricket Now" in the school community attacking the selection as a "disgrace" and calling for gender segregation of the cricket team. The sportsmaster of Barker College condemned the anonymous writer as "gutless" and maintained that Healy's selection was based on merit. Ian Healy and Alex Blackwell
Alex Blackwell
Robert Alexander Blackwell is a retired American professional basketball player, who had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA...
, a cricketer for the Australian women's team and former Barker student, also defended the selection and criticised the email author. The emailer was also criticised, and Alyssa Healy commended, by social commentators in newspapers. In 2010, she reflected "I'd do it all again...I really enjoyed playing school cricket with the boys and it definitely helped lift my skills and tighten my technique." Both she and Australian team-mate Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Alexandra Perry is an Australian sportswoman who made her debut for both the Australian cricket and football teams at the age of 16. She played her first cricket international in July 2007 before earning her first football cap for Australia a month later...
have publicly advocated girls playing against boys.
In January 2007, Healy was selected in the New South Wales team to play in the Under-19 interstate competition. Opening the batting in all three matches and keeping in only the second of these, she scored 47, 73 and 41 in her first three three matches, and took one catch. She went on to end with 345 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
at a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 57.50, topping the run-scorers list and was named the best under-17 player at the tournament. The following month, she was selected in the Australia Youth team, composed of under-23 cricketers, to play against New Zealand A, the only player selected before making their senior domestic debut. She scored 10 not out, 41 and 63 in three matches, and made one stumping. Her 63 from 84 balls in the final match was the top-score for the Australians, but it was not enough to prevent a 22-run defeat. She played as a wicket-keeper batting in the middle-order in the first match, and opened in the last two matches, playing purely as a batsman. The series ended 1–1 after the second match was tied.
Senior domestic debut
At the start of the 2007–08 season, she made her senior debut for the New South Wales BreakersNew South Wales Breakers
The New South Wales Breakers are the women's representative cricket team for New South Wales and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League...
in the Australian domestic one-day league. She was used as a specialist batsman in the top-order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
, as Leonie Coleman
Leonie Coleman
Leonie Anne Coleman is an Australian cricketer. A wicket-keeper, Coleman played in one Test match and 24 One Day Internationals for the Australian national women's cricket team....
, a wicket-keeper in the Australian squad, also played for New South Wales. She made her debut against South Australia
South Australian Scorpions
The South Australian Scorpions are the women's representative cricket team for South AustraliaThe Scorpions have played 102 matches for 44 wins, 2 no results and 56 losses.- External links :* Official Website of the * Official Website of...
and was unsuccessful to being with, scoring only 24 runs in her first five innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
. After one month at senior level, she broke through with a match-winning performance in her sixth senior game. After Queensland
Queensland Fire
The Queensland Fire are the women's representative cricket team for Queensland and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League.The Fire has played 104 matches for 36 wins, 1 tie, 4 no results and 63 losses.-External links:*The Homepage of...
had made 170, Healy came in with the score at 5/99 after 32 overs
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
, with 18 overs remaining. She raised the run rate
Run rate
In cricket, the run rate , or runs per over is the number of runs a batsman scores in an over of 6 balls. It includes all runs, even the so-called extras awarded due to errors by the bowler. Without extras and overthrows, the maximum run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as...
, scoring 41 not out from 50 balls, with eight fours, shepherding the tail-enders
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
and guiding her state to a two-wicket win with 17 balls to spare.
New South Wales reached the final and were awarded the title because they placed first in the qualifying matches after rain washed out the deciding game. Healy ended the season with 78 runs at 11.14. She also played in two Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
interstate matches. She scored two and made a stumping in the first match, and neither batted nor kept wicket in the latter. New South Wales prevailed in both.
At the end of the season, she was selected for the Under-23 Australian team to play a series against the senior England and Australian teams. She scored 45, 1 and 41 not out in three matches. In the third match, she combined for a second-wicket partnership
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
of 52 with Elyse Villani
Elyse Villani
Elyse Jane Villani is an Australian women's cricketer who played one match for Australia in the 2009 ICC Women's World Twenty20. She plays for Victorian Spirit in the Women's National Cricket League.-External links:...
, hitting six boundaries in 62 balls and guiding her team to an eight-wicket win over the Australian team. Playing as a specialist batsman, she also took three catches. The new 2008–09 season started the same way, with the Under-23 national team playing against Australia and India. The first match, against India, was washed out and Healy made a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
[zero] and 9 in the other matches. Playing as a batsman, she did not take a catch.
Healy again played as a batsman, with Coleman ensconced behind the stumps. In the first four matches of the new domestic season, she batted only once, scoring nine. In these matches she was placed in the lower-order and did not bowl. She was dropped after these four matches.
She then played six matches for the Second XI in the space of a week, mostly as a top-order batsman, sometimes opening and as a wicket-keeper. New South Wales won all the fixtures except for one that was abandoned due to inclement weather. She scored 120 runs at 40.00, took six catches and made three stumpings, and was recalled to the senior team after one week in the second-string outfit. In her first three matches back, Healy was placed in the middle-order and not required to bat or keep wickets. In the last league match, she scored 59 from 55 balls in a 89-run partnership at faster than a run a ball with Lisa Sthalekar
Lisa Sthalekar
Lisa Carprini Sthalekar is a female cricketer who plays for Australia, and captains New South Wales. One of the key players in the team, she is a right-handed all rounder who bowls off spin, and was rated as the leading all rounder in the world when rankings were introduced...
against Victoria
Victorian Spirit
The Victorian Spirit are the women's representative cricket team for Victoria and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League. They are one of only two sides to win a WNCL title - 2002/3 & 2004/5....
. New South Wales won by three wickets despite losing Healy and three subsequent batsmen in the closing phase of the run-chase. In the final against the same team the following week, Healy made 11 from 22 balls before being run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
, but New South Wales nevertheless won by six wickets with more than 15 overs to spare to claim the title. Healy ended the one-day competition with 79 runs at 26.33. She was named Australia's 30-strong shortlist for the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup
2009 Women's Cricket World Cup
The 2009 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the tournament and was held in Australia from 7 to 22 March 2009, using the sport's One Day International format....
, but was not a part of the final squad of 15.
Healy also played in two Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
matches for her state during the season, scoring 35 from 27 balls against South Australia and 16 from 21 balls against Victoria. She was New South Wales' second top-scorer in both matches; the first was won but the second lost.
Full-time wicket-keeper
After the Women's World Cup held in early 2009, Coleman transferred to play for the Australian Capital TerritoryACT Meteors
The ACT Meteors are the women's representative cricket team for the Australian Capital Territory and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League. The Meteors were granted entry to the Women's National Cricket League for the 2009-10 season, they previously competed in the Cricket Australia Cup...
, so Healy became New South Wales' gloveman on a full-time basis for the start of the 2009–10 season. After making scores of 11, 12 and 29 in her first three innings of the one-day season, she struck an unbeaten 89 against Victoria. Coming in upon the fall of Leah Poulton
Leah Poulton
Leah Joy Poulton is a female Australian cricketer who plays for New South Wales and Australia. She is a specialist batsman who usually opens the batting....
with the score at 1/9 after three overs, she hit 13 fours in 82 balls, putting on partnerships of 72 with Blackwell and 82 with Sthalekar. New South Wales reached their target of 187 with more than 13 overs to spare and Healy was named the Player of the Match, having earlier taken a catch
Caught
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Being caught out is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition...
and made a stumping. Her season was interrupted by her selection in the Australian Under-21 team to play against the New Zealand Emerging Players. In five matches, she scored 50 runs at 10.00, took five catches and made one stumping as Australia won the series 4–1.
In the final of the one-day competition, she scored 23 from 37 balls batting at No. 3 and took two catches as New South Wales defeated Victoria by 59 runs. Healy ended her first full season as a wicket-keeper with 208 runs at 29.71, the second-highest average in her team behind Blackwell. In 11 matches, she also took 11 catches and completed 9 stumpings, effecting more dismissals than any other player.
She made 52 runs at 13.00 in seven T20 matches. Her best score was an unbeaten 20 from 13 balls in an eight-wicket win over Tasmania
Tasmanian Roar
The Tasmanian Roar are the women's representative cricket team for the Australian state of Tasmania and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League Twenty20 tournament. For the 2009-10 season, the Tasmanian Roar have a naming rights sponsorship deal with local Tasmanian bakery chain Cripps...
. In the final, Victoria batted first and made 5/127, Healy completing a catch and stumping. In reply, Healy made a duck as New South Wales lost four wickets in the first 13 balls and were all out for 75 to lose by 22 runs.
International debut
Healy was selected in the Australian squad for the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand in February 2010 due to an injury to the incumbent wicketkeeper and captain Jodie Fields. The selection committee released a statement saying "Alyssa has been identified for higher honours for a number of years and now gets the chance to display her wicket-keeping skills and attacking batting on the international stage". Healy made her ODI debut at the Adelaide OvalAdelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
and played in all five ODIs in the Australian leg of the series. In her first match, she scored 21 from 11 balls in the death overs, hitting four fours as Australia made 241 before bowling out the visitors for 126 to seal a 115-run win. She took one catch, removing Amy Satterthwaite
Amy Satterthwaite
Amy Ella Satterthwaite is a New Zealand cricketer . She was born on 7 October 1986 in Christchurch, Canterbury and plays for Canterbury Women as a left-handed batsman and right arm medium pace bowler....
from the bowling of Rene Farrell
Rene Farrell
Rene Farrell is an Australian cricketer. A fast-medium pace bowler, she is a current member of the Australian team.Although Farrell was successful in age-group interstate cricket, she did not make her senior debut for New South Wales until late in the 2006–07 season a month before turning 20...
. Healy made consecutive ducks in the next two matches, and made four in the final match at Junction Oval
Junction Oval
The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname...
. She had only brief opportunities with the bat in the closing stages of the innings. She ended the series with 25 runs at 6.25 and a strike rate of 100.00, five catches and a stumping.
She then played in the three T20s held at Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
. The first of these matches was a curtain-raiser to the match between the Australia and West Indies men teams, and was the first match to be shown live on free-to-air television in Australia. New Zealand batted first and Australian fast bowler Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Alexandra Perry is an Australian sportswoman who made her debut for both the Australian cricket and football teams at the age of 16. She played her first cricket international in July 2007 before earning her first football cap for Australia a month later...
extracted an outside edge from captain Aimee Watkins from the first ball of the match. The ball flew straight to Healy's mid-riff and she dropped it. Watkins went on to score 44 from 36 balls as New Zealand made 7/117 and Healy's only dismissal was to catch Nicola Browne
Nicola Browne
Nicola Jane Browne is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the New Zealand in the women's one-day internationals and plays for the Northern Districts in the State League. She played in the 2005 and 2009 Women's Cricket World Cups, and was player of the series in the 2010 ICC Women's World...
from Sthalekar's off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
. Healy came to the crease at 6/107 at the end of the 19th over and had scored three runs from as many balls and found herself on strike for the final ball of the match, bowled by Browne, with Australia needing three runs for the win. The delivery was wide outside off and Healy's expansive shot took the outside edge of the bat and flew towards the vacant first slip area
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
. It would have gone for a match-winning four runs but for New Zealand wicket-keeper Rachel Priest
Rachel Priest
Rachel Holly Priest is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the Central Districts Hinds in the State League. She was born in New Plymouth. She was the wicketkeeper in New Zealand's unsuccessful 2009 World Cup campaign. She also kept wicket for the team.-References:*...
diving across and catching the ball one-handed in her right glove, handing the tourists a two-run victory.
Healy had little impact with the bat in the three T20s in Australia and two more at the start of the New Zealand leg of the series, scoring 17 runs at 5.66 and a strike rate of 77.27. Apart from one catch on her debut, she did not make any more dismissals. Australia lost all five matches. She was then omitted for the three ODIs in New Zealand as batsman Jess Cameron
Jess Cameron
Jessica Evelyn Cameron is an Australian cricketer. A batsman, she is a current member of the Australian women's cricket team.Cameron made her debut for Victoria in the 2006–07 Women's National Cricket League...
stood in as a makeshift wicket-keeper.
2010 World Twenty20
Healy was selected for the 2010 World Twenty202010 ICC Women's World Twenty20
The 2010 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament which was held in the West Indies from 5 May to 16 May 2010. The group stage matches were played at the Warner Park Sporting Complex on Saint Kitts. It was won by Australia, who defeated New Zealand in the final...
in the West Indies and played in every match after Fields was again forced out by injury. In the first warm-up match, she took two catches and did not bat as Australia lost to New Zealand by 18 runs. In the last warm-up match, she was again not required to bat and did not make a dismissal as the Australians defeated Pakistan by 82 runs.
Australia were grouped with England, South Africa and the West Indies. In the first match against England, Healy took one catch to dismiss Danielle Hazell
Danielle Hazell
Danielle Hazell is an English cricketer. Born in Durham in 1988 she plays for the Sapphires in the 'Super Fours' competition and was a late inclusion into England's successful World Twenty/20 squad in 2009, replacing the injured Anya Shrubsole, although she did not appear in the tournament. She...
from the bowling of Sthalekar. In pursuit of 105 for victory, Australia were struggling when Healy came to the crease with the score at 7/63 after 14.2 overs. Three wickets had fallen in the space of 16 balls, during which only three runs had been added, and England had the momentum, and 42 runs were needed from 34 balls for victory. Healy then struck three fours, making 15 from 9 balls before being dismissed by Nicki Shaw
Nicki Shaw
Nicki Shaw is an English cricketer and former member of the England women's cricket team. She was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and plays county cricket for Surrey, who she currently captains. She is a right arm fast medium bowler and right-handed batsman. She has played 4 tests and over 60 one...
, ending a stand of 23 from 13 balls with Sthalekar. However, Rene Farrell
Rene Farrell
Rene Farrell is an Australian cricketer. A fast-medium pace bowler, she is a current member of the Australian team.Although Farrell was successful in age-group interstate cricket, she did not make her senior debut for New South Wales until late in the 2006–07 season a month before turning 20...
was run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
going for the winning run from the third last ball available, leaving the scores tied.
A Super Over eventuated, and Laura Marsh
Laura Marsh
Laura Alexandra Marsh is an English cricketer. She began playing cricket at 11 and started her career as a medium pace bowler but found greater success when she switched to off spin. She plays country cricket for Sussex, represents the Rubies and made her Test debut against India in 2006...
bowled for England. Healy came in at 1/3 after Leah Poulton
Leah Poulton
Leah Joy Poulton is a female Australian cricketer who plays for New South Wales and Australia. She is a specialist batsman who usually opens the batting....
fell on the fourth ball. She hit a two from the fifth ball, and was run out by Jenny Gunn
Jenny Gunn
Jennifer Louise Gunn is an English cricketer and a member of the current England women's team. A medium pace bowler and lower middle order batsman, she is the daughter of former Nottingham Forest player Bryn Gunn. She plays for Nottinghamshire and Western Australia and made her Test debut at 17...
while attempting to complete a second run on the sixth and final ball of Australia's Super Over, leaving them at 2/6. England also ended with 2/6 after a run out in an attempt to secure the winning run on the final ball. Australia was awarded the match because they had hit more sixes in the match—Jess Cameron
Jess Cameron
Jessica Evelyn Cameron is an Australian cricketer. A batsman, she is a current member of the Australian women's cricket team.Cameron made her debut for Victoria in the 2006–07 Women's National Cricket League...
scored the solitary six.
In the next match against South Africa, Healy was elevated two positions to No. 7. Coming in upon the fall of Cameron, her partner Sarah Elliott
Sarah Elliott
Sarah Jane Elliott is a female international cricketer for Australia. A right-handed batsman who also bowls leg spin, she made her international debut in 2005, but did not gain a regular position in the team until 2010....
was then run out without further addition to the score. Healy hit one boundary and was then out for 8 from 6 balls at 7/151. Her dismissal was part of a sudden collapse as Australia lost 6/16 including the last four wickets for four runs to be all out for 155 with three balls unused. Healy did not make a dismissal as Australia completed a 22-run win. In the final group match against the West Indies, Healy came in at 6/111 and hit 12 from 8 balls, before being caught from the final ball of the innings as Australia finished on 7/133. She had put on 22 runs in 16 balls with Sthalekar. She caught Deandra Dottin
Deandra Dottin
Deandra Jalisa Shakira Dottin is an international cricketer. A right-handed batswoman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, Dottin made her debut for the West Indies women's cricket team in June 2008...
from the bowling of Perry for a golden duck as Australia won by nine runs to finish the group stage unbeaten at the top of their quartet.
Australia went on to face India in the semi-final. Healy stumped leading Indian batsman Mithali Raj
Mithali Raj
Mithali Raj is a Test and One Day International cricketer who represents India women's cricket team. She was the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. She made her One Day International debut in 1999 against Ireland at Milton Keynes and scored 114 runs without getting out in that match...
from the bowling of Sthalekar and was not required to bat as Australia reached their target of 120 with seven wickets and seven balls to spare. Australia elected to bat first in the final against New Zealand, but was top-order struggled and Healy came to the crease to join Elliott at 5/51 in the 13th over after the fall of two wickets in quick succession. The pair lifted the run rate
Run rate
In cricket, the run rate , or runs per over is the number of runs a batsman scores in an over of 6 balls. It includes all runs, even the so-called extras awarded due to errors by the bowler. Without extras and overthrows, the maximum run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as...
by adding 21 runs in 18 balls. Healy scored 10 from as many balls, but was then run out attempting a second run after being dropped by Sara McGlashan
Sara McGlashan
Sara Jade McGlashan is a New Zealand cricketer who has played two women's test matches, 80 women's one-day internationals and 16 Twenty20 matches for the New Zealand. She is the sister of Peter McGlashan. She plays for the Central Districts in the State League.-References:...
in the outfield. This left the score at 6/72 in the 16th over, and Australia eventually ended on 8/106.
During the middle of the run-chase, Priest was incorrectly given out stumped by Healy after the television umpire Asad Rauf
Asad Rauf
Asad Rauf, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, was a first class cricketer and is now a member of the Emirates ICC Elite Umpire Panel.- Playing Days :His career as a first-class cricket player lasted from 1977/78 to 1991/92...
had pressed the wrong button, and he had to retract his decision. Soon after New Zealand were at 5/36 after 11 overs, leaving them with 71 runs to score from the last 54 balls, and Australia were in the ascendancy. However, New Zealand's chances were revived by Nicola Browne
Nicola Browne
Nicola Jane Browne is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the New Zealand in the women's one-day internationals and plays for the Northern Districts in the State League. She played in the 2005 and 2009 Women's Cricket World Cups, and was player of the series in the 2010 ICC Women's World...
and Sophie Devine
Sophie Devine
Sophie Frances Monique Devine is a member of the New Zealand women's cricket team.-External links:*...
, who put on 41 from as many balls. In the 18th over, Healy caught Browne from Perry's bowling, and Australia went on to win by three runs after New Zealand ended on 6/103.