Alyssa Healy made a shock announcement that she will be retiring from all cricket after Australia’s home series against India in February-March 2026.
Healy would be featuring in the three ODIs and a one-off Test at the WACA before she brings down the curtains to her illustrious 16-year-old career, during which she has won six T20 World Cups and two ODI World titles.
Healy won’t be playing in the T20Is as she won’t be part of the T20 World Cup. “It’s been a long time coming,” Healy said on the podcast Willow Talk. “The last few years has been probably more mentally draining than anything else. A few injuries. I’ve got to dive into the well, and the well is getting less and less full of water. Getting harder to dive back in there.
“I’ve always felt like I’ve had a competitive edge in that I want to compete, I want to win and I want to challenge myself on the park. I’ve felt as I’ve got a little bit older, I’ve not necessarily lost all of it, but I’ve lost some of that.
“I think the WBBL [last year] was probably a bit of a wake-up call. Not being able to hold the bat with two hands didn’t help either, but waking up and going, ‘just another day of cricket’, really surprised myself because I still thought I loved playing the game.”
Meanwhile, Australia will now be looking at options to replace Healy as the next skipper with the T20 World Cup coming up.
5 players who can replace Alyssa Healy as next Australian captain
1 – Ashleigh Gardner: Star all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner is a strong candidate who can replace Healy as the next Australian skipper. Gardner leads the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL and the Gujarat Giants in the WPL.
Sixers coach Matthew Mott earmarked her as Australia’s next captain, as he stated that she would “become one of the better leaders that has ever been produced in Australian cricket”.
2 – Ellyse Perry: Another strong candidate to captain Australia is legendary all-rounder Ellyse Perry. While just like Gardner, Perry has not led Australia before, she has been a successful captain in the WBBL, having led in 150 matches.
3 – Phoebe Litchfield: Young gun Litchfield is a long-term captaincy option for Australia. At just 22, she can offer the leadership for a decade. Litchfield is a gun batter and is earmarked to be the next big thing in Australian cricket. While some would argue that she is too young, it is worth noting that Meg Lanning got captaincy in 2014 when she was not even 22.
4 – Tahlia McGrath: Star all-rounder Tahlia McGrath is another option to lead Australia. She has been the vice-captain since 2023. However, what might not go in her favour is her poor run of form. McGrath has averaged 14 in the ongoing WBBL and has just five wickets in 10 matches.
5 – Beth Mooney: Mooney can also be a left-choice captaincy pick for Australia. The wicketkeeper batter is a renowned big-stage player with her knocks in World Cup knockouts being the highlight of her career. She has little resume to show for her captaincy credentials, having led in only 22 T20 matches in her career so far.
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