Quantcast

Healy hoping to shine bright at Yorkshire

Aussie keeper-batter links up with Diamonds for T20 stint alongside one of her fiercest Ashes rivals

While the remainder of her Australian teammates have either returned home or jetted off on holidays following their women's Ashes triumph, Alyssa Healy is keeping her feet firmly on English soil.

The Australian wicketkeeper will make her debut in England's domestic 20-over Super League on Tuesday, where she'll also find herself playing alongside one of her fiercest rivals for the first time.

Healy is donning the blue of Yorkshire Diamonds, where she'll play alongside England spearhead Katherine Brunt – a fiery quick whose battles with Healy have become a feature both of Ashes contests and of the Rebel WBBL – as well as New Zealand off-spinner Leigh Kasperek and India young gun Jemimah Rodrigues.

"I'm looking forward to being on Katherine Brunt's team for a change, I've relished the battle against her in the Ashes and now I'm really excited to be on her team," Healy told cricket.com.au.

"She's one of the more energetic cricketers going around and the energy she brings to that England team, hopefully she replicates that for Yorkshire.

"It's a really exciting squad, got a really good mix of international cricketers and some good domestic players."

While the chance to spend a few weeks at home is appealing for the remainder of the Australian squad, who depart on a bilateral tour of the West Indies later this month, Healy not only has the bonus of extra game time, but also remaining in close proximity to husband Mitchell Starc.

"I'm going to enjoy the opportunity to stay over here and play some more cricket," Healy said.

"It's a good competition I've been keeping my eye on over the last couple of years and this year is the right time for me to make the decision to stay and play.

"I think it works out really well, especially with our international schedule and going to the West Indies after."

Yorkshire hope to advance to the finals for the first time in the competition's four-year history and will kick off their season with a clash against Surrey Stars at Headingley on Tuesday, with the regular season scheduled to run until August 28 before finals day on September 1.

Healy is the only member of Australia's 15-strong Ashes squad to have stayed on for the Super League, but she will come across two compatriots in the competition.

Leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington has signed on with Southern Vipers, where she'll join Adelaide Strikers teammate Suzie Bates and West Indies star Stafanie Taylor.

She replaces Sophie Molineux at the club, after the Australian allrounder withdrew from the competition having made a successful return from shoulder surgery during the women's Ashes.

"We're all disappointed that Sophie has had to withdraw from the KSL but we're very lucky to get a replacement of Amanda's quality," Vipers director of women's cricket Charlotte Edwards said.

"She's a hugely talented leg-spinner and will offer something different to our squad this summer."

Fellow South Australian, allrounder Tahlia McGrath, has signed with Lancashire Thunder, where she'll play under the coaching of Australian legend Alex Blackwell.

Both players have represented Australia and were part of last month's Australia A tour of the United Kingdom, where the tourists were undefeated in four matches against the England Academy.