WPL 2024: Meet Australia's Alyssa Healy, Captain Of UP Warriorz

The seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy has assumed the captaincy across all three formats, marking a significant shift after the retirement of the illustrious Meg Lanning. This decision comes on the heels of Healy's commendable leadership during a recent series against England, Ireland, and the West Indies, where she showcased not only her cricketing prowess but also a natural flair for captaincy. Healy also captained the UP Warriorz in the inaugural season of the Women's Premiere League, and she will resume her captain duties again this season in the WPL 2024.

The cricket world witnessed a spectacle as the second Women’s Premier League auction unfolded in Mumbai. With 165 cricketers, comprising 104 Indians and 61 overseas players, awaiting their fate, the anticipation is palpable. Defending champions Mumbai Indians, runners-up Delhi Capitals, and third-placed UP Warriorz have largely retained their core players, setting the stage for a captivating battle in the auction arena.

Alyssa Healy Takes the Helm Across All Formats

Healy, at 33, brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having already demonstrated her leadership mettle during her interim captaincy. Her journey, studded with achievements, now takes a decisive turn as she leads the charge for Australia in a more permanent capacity. The appointment underscores Cricket Australia's confidence in Healy's ability to fill the formidable shoes left by Lanning.

Expressing her honour at taking up the captaincy, Healy remarked, “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead our team.” Married to Australian men’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, Healy has garnered support from her teammates, emphasizing the importance of staying true to herself and leading the group authentically.

Alyssa Healy's Journey So Far

Born on March 24, 1990, Alyssa Healy competes for the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL as well as the Australian women's national team and New South Wales in domestic cricket. Alyssa Healy led the UP Warriorz at the Women's Premiere League in the tournament's debut season, which launched in 2023.

Alyssa Healy has improved from a shaky beginning in international cricket to becoming one of the most potent hitters in the world. She can quickly neutralise bowling assaults and is perhaps the best lofted on-drive player in the game. With an unbeaten 148 off 61 balls against Sri Lanka in October 2019, she broke the previous record for the highest T20I innings. In 2020, she played the pivotal inning in the T20 World Cup final in Melbourne. She is the daughter of Greg Healy, a member of the Queensland squad, and her uncle Ian Healy held the record for the most Test dismissals as Australia's wicketkeeper.

For Healy to get to those levels, though, it took some time. In her first 80 T20I appearances, she averaged 17.44 with a strike rate of 112, while in her first 52 ODI matches, she averaged 15.96. The Australian team's 2017 ODI World Cup semi-final exit proved crucial, as it did for many teams throughout. She started opening the innings regularly, a position she had previously filled sporadically and shown flashes of her potential in. She scored an unbeaten 62 in an ODI against New Zealand in 2012 and 90 off 61 balls in a T20I against India that same year. Since then, she has averaged 36 in T20Is with a 149 percent strike rate, and since 2017, she has averaged 55 in ODIs.

Her perseverance was on display at the start of the highly anticipated 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, when she had a string of five single-figure scores and struck a half-century in the opening match, albeit a loss, before saving her best for the biggest occasion of them all in front of 86,000 spectators. She was a key component of the 2018 T20 World Cup victory in the West Indies.

The grab to knock Shafali Verma out of the 2020 World Cup final is just one example of her increasingly smooth glovework that can hold its own against the likes of Megan Schutt. Healy is surely one of the most celebrated cricketers and it will be interesting to watch her journey going forward.