Refreshed Healy back in the runs

A refreshed Alyssa Healy was back at her powerful best on Thursday, blasting an unbeaten 70 from just 42 deliveries to lead the Sixers to a seven-wicket win against the Renegades at the SCG.

Healy had headed into the Rebel WBBL as the world’s most in-form batter, fresh off a dominant T20 World Cup campaign that saw the wicketkeeper-batter named player of the tournament.

She started WBBL|04 on a strong note with 70 at Melbourne’s Junction Oval, but the right-hander reached double figures just twice in the six matches that followed.

A few days off over Christmas, which included a trip to Melbourne to spend time with husband and Australian Test spearhead Mitchell Starc, saw Healy return refreshed for the SCG clash.

“Having a couple of days off, it was nice to refresh and recharge,” Healy said.

“Fortunately for me, Pez has been going nuts at the other end, so it didn’t really matter what I was doing too much.

“It was nice to be able to come out and spend some time at the crease and re-find that form I’ve had for the last six months.”

It’s been a demanding four-month period for Australia’s top players, who spend September in camp preparing for their home T20 series against New Zealand, before flying to Malaysia to play Pakistan.

From there they travelled directly to the Caribbean for their successful T20 World Cup campaign, returning home just days before the opening weekend of WBBL|04.

There’s still another month remaining in the season for the teams who make it as far as the finals, but Healy doesn’t believe she’ll have any problems maintaining her enthusiasm as her team vies for a third consecutive title.

“I’d lie if I said I wasn’t a little bit tired, but I don’t think that was an excuse (for the low scores), I was still really excited to play cricket and be around this group.

“We’ve got some 15- and 16-year-old kids in our squad who are really enthusiastic about it and it makes you enthusiastic about it too.

“There’s probably a little bit of fatigue around the group but we’re playing at some very exciting stadiums coming up so I think that will get wiped out pretty quickly.”

While Healy had a string of quieter matches, her opening partner Ellyse Perry was in the form of her life.

She’s been dismissed for two and eight in her two most recent outings, but before that had compiled knocks of 58, 102no, 74no, 10, 72no, 103no to sit light years ahead of her nearest competitors on the WBBL|04 runs tally.

It has come after a T20 World Cup campaign during which Perry was starved of opportunities at No.7 in the Australian batting order, her shuffle down the order a result of her relatively lower strike rate compared to her teammates in the top six.

With her 429 runs for WBBL|04 coming at a rate of 133.64, her response has been emphatic.

“I can’t comment on selection too much but all I know is they told her why she was at seven and her strike rate was below the other six, and she’s really come out and proven that point in this Big Bash,” Healy said.  

“Full credit to her, she’s always evolving her game, it shows the full character of her and what a legend she is.”

The Sixers are in action again on Friday as they host the Adelaide Strikers at Hurstville Oval.