Alyssa Healy Explained: Australia Women's Opening Wicketkeeper-Batter

Alyssa Healy (born 24 March 1990 in Southport, Queensland, Australia) is a right-handed opening wicketkeeper-batter who is one of Australia Women's most important players. She opens the batting for Australia and keeps wicket across all formats, with her aggressive opening style setting the tone for Australia's innings from ball one.

The 2023 Women's T20 World Cup Final

In the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Final in Cape Town, Healy scored 75 not out off 54 balls — a performance described as one of the greatest women's T20 World Cup final innings ever played. She almost single-handedly won the match for Australia against South Africa, timing and hitting brilliantly on a pressure occasion in front of a passionate home crowd. The innings confirmed her status as women's cricket's premier T20 opening batter.

Relationship with Mitchell Starc

Alyssa Healy is married to Mitchell Starc — Australia's left-arm fast bowler and one of the most celebrated pace bowlers in men's Test cricket history. Their relationship is one of cricket's most high-profile — two elite internationals competing at the highest level simultaneously. When Starc withdrew from the 2022 IPL auction to support Healy and their family commitments during the women's cricket schedule, it generated significant media coverage about the increasing importance of women's cricket schedules alongside men's.

Aggressive Opening Style

Healy's opening batting style is aggressive from ball one — she attacks the new ball with calculated aggression, looking to score boundaries in the powerplay when fielding restrictions allow more gaps. This approach puts the bowling team under immediate pressure and shifts the required run rate calculation early, giving Australia's middle order (including Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney) a foundation to build from. Her style is ideal for T20 cricket but she also performs in ODIs when the situation requires.

Australia Women Captain

Healy has also captained Australia Women across formats — taking on the leadership role that Meg Lanning (who retired in 2023) previously held. Australia Women's captaincy requires managing a dominant team with high expectations, maintaining winning standards while also managing the personal and professional development of a squad that includes some of women's cricket's most talented players.