Australia's great enigma, Healy continues to grow

The pantomime villain. The laidback joker. The dressing room pest. Genius behind the stumps. Chirpy behind the stumps. World Cup winner. New South Wales captain. Belinda Clark medalist. Ian Healy’s niece. Mitchell Starc’s wife.

Alyssa Healy’s been called plenty of things, but it’s impossible to sum up Australia’s star wicketkeeper-batter with just any one of the above titles.

The 28-year-old has long been one of the more recognisable members of Australia’s women’s team, but her fame has reached new heights throughout the past 18 months, thanks to the golden run of form – with both bat and gloves – that culminated in her sweeping the women’s international gongs at February’s Australian Cricket Awards.

All this means Healy is attracting more attention than ever before.

But while she’s the first to act up when a camera is switched on in her vicinity – bringing that trademark banter and winning grin at any possible opportunity - she’s equally uncomfortable when the spotlight turns to discussing her on-field achievements.

Every bit the outgoing extrovert as she is the old, retiring soul, Healy is something of an enigma.

On one hand, there’s the warm and engaging New South Wales captain who is a leader on and off the field, both for her state and country.

Image Id: 80B6FC82071B47C99B575E4E5CE38A06 Image Caption: Healy (left), Megan Schutt and Georgia Wareham experiment with a Australian Rules Sherrin // Getty

The joker, the first with a quick quip and the player most likely to be affectionately nominated “biggest pest” by her teammates.

The bold and brash ‘keeper unafraid to offer an opinion or two from behind the stumps to get inside her rival’s head, a formidable opponent with bat, gloves or lip.

And the homebody, who – when she’s not hanging out with her mates on the golf course – can be found happily lazing on the couch at home with Mitch (when he’s not touring) and their staffies, Misty and Millie.

“One hundred per cent I’ll go out and socialise like the rest of them …  (but) I feel like I'm a bit of an old soul. I love to go and play golf on Thursdays with the ladies at the club, whose average age is just about 58, I enjoy hanging out with them and talking about life and sport and what's next in their lives,” Healy told cricket.com.au ahead of Australia’s recent training camp in Brisbane.

It’s not surprising the English – or their media, at least – have conflicting feelings about the Australian wicketkeeper.

In October 2017, Healy made headlines around the world when she declared she was “bringing the bitch back” behind the stumps for the most recent Ashes series played on Australian soil.

Just this week, when asked to make a prediction about the Ashes, she declared: “Australia not losing a game. That’s very bold.”

She later clarified on social media that her comments were firmly tongue in cheek - tweeting ‘When a joke goes wrong’ with a facepalm emoji - but not before they’d attracted the attention of journalists and fans on both sides of the world.

Earlier this year, a profile in The Cricket Monthly described Healy as the ‘archetype of the pantomime villain’, the character audiences love to hate – an ultimately positive (if at times begrudgingly so) ode to Healy’s skills with bat, gloves and gob.

“It’s an interesting analogy I guess, at first I wasn’t sure whether I was flattered or a little upset by it,” Healy said.

“But I started reading it and I guess I was flattered by the article. Naturally being wicketkeeper it is my job to be a bit of a pest behind the stumps and if I can help the team in anyway in that department on the field, that's what I’ll do.”

As fierce an opponent as she is a loyal ally and friend, Healy’s someone you want on your side.

For Australia captain Meg Lanning, it’s Healy’s ability to lift moods while also offering a calm, experienced head in the middle that’s been as vital to the Australia’s recent success as the runs that have flowed from her bat.

“We talk about enjoying our cricket and having fun and I think she's really the leader in that,” Lanning told Direct Hit earlier this year.

“She's always been someone who has been really relaxed around her cricket, which is great because I think it can get pretty intense and serious at times.

“We want to do well but when you're enjoying your cricket and enjoying each other’s company, I think you’re going to do a lot better.

“She's been leading the way in that, you always see a smile on her face out in the middle when she's batting or keeping.

Image Id: 2C49DC781B6E44E4991A48E9B83D11C8 Image Caption: Healy and Meg Lanning chat to Alex Blackwell at the announcement of the T20 World Cup fixture // Getty

“She's (also) been able to step in and help me and Rach (Haynes, Lanning’s deputy) with our leadership as well. It’s great to have a number of leaders within our team and she's certainly been able to lead on and off the field, which I think is really important.”

Now, Healy’s got England in her sights once more, with the 2019 edition of the Ashes to begin in Leicester on July 2 – and while she’ll bring the same competitive spirit to this contest, don’t necessarily expect her to repeat that infamous line this time around.

“I don't think that the bitch ever really came back,” Healy laughed. “But look it got a good run in the media (at the time) and I’ll go over there play the cricket hard like I always do.

“I won’t cross any lines but at the same time we really want to win the Ashes and we’ll do what we can to do that.

“The Australian team are going to be incredibly competitive and both teams really want to win the Ashes, it’s a really fiercely contested series.”

Despite that 2017 statement, it’s actually Healy’s bat that has done the bulk of the talking in the 18 months since Australia and England last met in an Ashes series.

The statistics speak for themselves:

Between 2010 and the end of 2017, Healy averaged 18.82 in ODIs and 17.53 in T20Is, scoring six half-centuries across that period.

Since, she’s averaged 54.83 in ODIs and 41.28 in T20Is – with seven fifties and an ODI ton.

It’s been well documented the changes Healy made that resulted in her golden year: working with her batting mentor Ash Squire on developing new shots and finding new scoring areas, taking her strength and fitness to new levels and – probably most crucially – finally gaining the belief that she does belong among the game’s top batters.

For England, set to meet Australia in the upcoming Ashes – a multi-format series comprised of three ODIs, one Test and three T20Is – the main riddle they’ll be concerned about figuring out is just how to stop Healy.

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

June 26: England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

June 28:  England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

July 2: First ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 4: Second ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 7:  Third ODI, St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury

July 11-13: England Academy v Australia, Marlborough College, Swindon

July 18-21: Only Test, The County Ground, Taunton

July 26: First T20, County Ground, Chelmsford

July 28: Second T20, The County Ground, Hove

July 31: Third T20, Bristol County Ground, Bristol

A Test victory is worth four points (two each for a draw), two points are awarded for ODI and T20 wins