Healy in a World of her own

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have been treated to a meet and greet with some of the Gold Coast’s biggest celebrities – the world champions rubbing shoulders, and fins, with the dolphins at Sea World.

The all-conquering squad have been in irresistible form since their arrival in Queensland, winning their ODI series four-nil and dominating their two Twenty20 Internationals to date, with the series rounding out with the third and fourth T20s taking place tomorrow and Friday.

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Despite being a somewhat unorthodox preparation for an international fixture, wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy is enjoying the added perks of travelling with the world’s top-ranked women’s team.

“It’s obviously nice being on tour and getting to experience some things that you probably usually wouldn’t,” Healy told cricket.com.au.

“If you came to Sea World usually, you’d probably just go on some rides and see the dolphin show but instead we got to meet some of the dolphins and have a pat.

“And they were nice enough to pose for some photos, so we’ve been very lucky – the Sea World staff have looked after us brilliantly.”

Healy, who is currently studying marine biology at university, was particularly keen to get up close and personal with some of the park’s attractions.

“I’m in my element a little bit here,” she said. “I spent a bit of time down at Shark Bay looking at all the sharks and the turtles, and fed some stingrays as well.

“So I’m pretty happy with the day thus far.”

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After cramming four one-day internationals and a pair of Twenty20s into the last two weeks, Healy says the team was grateful for the break.

“It’s nice to have a couple of days off,” she continued. “Training has been cancelled on both days just to give us a bit of a break.

“It’s been a pretty full-on series, with all the rain and so much training.

“So to have a couple of days’ downtime and get to relax in the special way we did today is nice.”

But despite enjoying a day with dolphins and boasting an unassailable two-nil series lead, Healy says her side is more motivated than ever to finish the last two T20s off in style – beginning with tomorrow’s match at the Gold Coast District Cricket Ground in Robina.

“The T20 performances have been outstanding, and I think we’ll be looking to finish the series undefeated,” she added.

“I think, in the ODIs, we felt a bit scratchy; we were getting over the line, but not convincingly.”

“The team has been really pleased with the dominant performances we’ve put on the board in the T20s (and) I haven’t been a part of an undefeated series since the World Cup in 2010, so I think we’ll be looking to do that here.”

Be sure to catch every ball of the remaining T20Is streamed LIVE, with ABC Grandstand commentary, on cricket.com.au.