Canberra, Jun 24 (UNI) Australia skipper Alyssa Healy is keen to lead her side to back-to-back ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup titles.
Having faced fitness issues over the last few months, Australia captain Alyssa Healy is aiming to go the full stretch in the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year.
“According to science, the ODI World Cups is one of the heaviest loads that we go through as cricketers,” Healy told AAP.
“My aim is to play every game of that World Cup. So to make sure I can do that is important.”
Healy’s injury troubles began when she suffered a foot injury towards the end of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, followed soon after by a knee injury in the Women’s Big Bash League.
This restricted the player’s participation in Australia’s upcoming contests, and while she featured sporadically in a successful Women’s Ashes triumph Down Under, she missed out on engagements against New Zealand, and the Women’s Premier League in India.
With recovery on the right track, the next step in Healy’s quest for World Cup appearance is expected to be Australia A’s face-off against India in Queensland in August.
A win in the World Cup would make Australia the first side to have won back-to-back titles in the tournament since 1988. For Healy, since taking over the side after Meg Lanning’s departure in 2023, her goal has been to place them in the best possible position to repeat their 2022 World Cup glory.
“That was one of my goals, putting a timeline on it and saying this is where I could take this group, even not knowing what I was going to do personally," Healy said.
“It definitely was a big focus of mine, to get the group to a place to compete at this World Cup, and win the trophy
“It's not so much about the captaincy, or ticking one more box [at a personal level]. It's just that I want to win a World Cup for Australia, and no one has gone back-to-back, which is a real motivator.”
With her focus directed on the global tournament in India, any talks of retirement were secondary for Healy.
While mindful of her age and the demands of the game, Healy wanted to make up for lost time in the coming months.
“It's [retirement date] probably shifted a little bit,” Healy said. “It's [injuries have] made me realise that I still want to do a little bit more than maybe what I thought. At the same time, sometimes there's stuff in life that are a little bit more important than pulling on the green and gold. So it's just a constant reassess.
“But at the moment I definitely want to play a home summer. I want to bring the World Cup home, but also to play against India [in 2026 at home].”
UNI RKM