“I’m not cut out for this.”
This is not a sentiment that anyone who has observed Alyssa Healy’s long and storied career would have associated with such a champion of the game. But it was this thought that hit Healy early in her career for Australia, trying her hand at opening for her country for the first time and finding herself unable to hit the ball off the square, that demonstrates the depths of her humility and humanity.
Always an immense talent growing up, Healy also had the blessing and curse of a famous surname. A blessing in that it ensured doors were always open for her, but a curse in the form of giant expectations that hung like a dark cloud above her head at all times. So much so that the first statistic mentioned on her Wikipedia page is not one of her own – impressive though hers are – but one of her uncle’s.
However, despite the weight of expectations and her own self-doubt, Healy went on to have a truly impressive international career. Racking up more than 3,000 runs in the ODI and T20 formats, she will go down in history as one of the greats of the game. That her Test career has comprised just 10 matches speaks only to the lack of opportunities for women in the long form of the game. As a wicketkeeper, she has 269 dismissals across the three formats – the most of anyone in international women’s cricket. These individual achievements are matched only by what she has achieved in a team environment – six T20 World Cups, two ODI World Cups, 11 WNCL titles and two WBBL titles.
With one final home series ahead of her, Healy has the opportunity to write her own ending. While it does not quite have the fairytale credentials of going out after lifting one final World Cup trophy, Healy has enough silverware to reflect her glory back to her for years to come. To finish at home, in front of crowds that were unimaginable when she made her Australian debut, to stand in front of the success that she helped build, feels like a fitting farewell.
Healy entered women’s cricket at a time when the game was significantly smaller than it now is. The idea of an Australian women’s player sitting alongside the retired greats of the men’s game in the commentary box during a men’s Ashes would have been unthinkable. And yet Healy did not simply sit back and let the dial gradually shift alongside her throughout the 16 years since her international debut, she played an active role in moving it and creating opportunities for herself and those who come after her. She is considered a wicketkeeping expert alongside Adam Gilchrist not simply due to the inevitable evolution of women’s sport, but because of the way she has personally changed cricket.
Healy was part of the cohort of Australian women’s players who received an initial marketing contract from Cricket Australia. Her arrival on the international scene marked a new era for the way the women’s game was promoted. While the nature of this promotion was a product of the time and perhaps not as inclusive as it could have been, Healy seized the opportunity and propelled herself into becoming a household name – something that had never before been achievable for in women’s cricket. Alongside Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry, she worked her way into conversations across the country. Before long, people not only knew their names, but had opinions about their statistics and position in the team.
It was not always easy – the weight of expectation never subsided and that dark cloud only became heavier as the game and Healy herself gained more prominence. There is rarely a social media post featuring Healy that does not contain criticism in the comments. When she is out cheaply, the critics pile on. When she makes a big score, it’s about time that she did. That she has weathered this relentless storm for as long as she has speaks volumes about her character and resilience.
From those nervous beginnings of testing herself as an opening batter in the international arena, Healy has proved to the world – but more importantly to herself – that she is indeed cut out for this. And while she walks away with a full trophy cabinet, when she tells the story of her career in the years to come it may just be that criticism that looms as her proudest achievement. To take the game from where it was when she began to a place where people care enough to have strong, loud opinions on individual players is a remarkable feat and one she has been brave enough to endure.
