Alyssa Healy shifted the dial to propel women’s cricket to its modern heights | Megan Maurice
“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,
Peter Mandelson apologises for Epstein association in sudden U-turn
Peter Mandelson has issued an apology for his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – after declining to do so in an interview broadcast on Sunday.The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC in which he suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier’s sex life.On Monday night, Lord Mandelson apologised “unequivocally” for associating with Epstein after his conviction.In a statement, he said: “At the weekend, I gave an interview to the BBC. In answering questions about my association with Jeffrey Epstein I did not want to be held responsible for his crimes of which I was ignorant, not indifferent, because of the lies he told me and so many others
Conservative defections risk making Reform UK into Tory party 2.0
In the death throes of Boris Johnson’s government in the summer of 2022, Nadhim Zahawi was appointed chancellor by an increasingly desperate prime minister determined to cling on to power.The vacancy arose after Rishi Sunak, who had led the Treasury for more than two years, quit saying he no longer had confidence in Johnson to lead the country, setting off – with others – a string of high-profile desertions.Just over a day later, as ministerial resignations gathered pace to exceed 50, even Zahawi saw the writing on the wall, and called on the prime minister to go. But he stopped short of resigning himself.His decision, which meant he stayed on at the Treasury for a further two months and was privately branded an opportunist by colleagues, showed just how flexible he was willing to be when it came to his own career
Law making creation of nonconsensual, intimate images illegal to come into force this week – as it happened
Kendall says the decision by X last week to restrict the Grok AI deepfake tool to subscribers does not go anywhere near far enough.She goes on:Under the Online Safety Act, sharing intimate images without someone’s consent, or threatening to share them, including images of people in their underwear, is a criminal offence for individuals and for platforms.My predecessor [Peter Kyle] rightly made this a priority offence, so services have to take proactive action to stop this content from appearing in the first place.The Data Act, passed last year, made it a criminal offence to create or request the creation of nonconsensual and intimate images.And today I can announce to the house that this offence will be brought into force this week, and that I will make it a priority offence in the Online Safety Act
Step forward, Nadhim Zahawi: the latest, highest-profile rat to flee the Tory ship | John Crace
Here’s a thought: try to name a former Conservative MP that Nigel Farage wouldn’t accept as a member of Reform. OK, he might draw the line at Liz Truss on the grounds she is a danger to everyone. Especially herself. And Boris Johnson might be a problem. Not just as a clash of competing egos but because the immigration Boriswave might be a hard sell to Nige’s core supporters
Energy and health optimism help lift civil service morale under Labour
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Peter Mandelson declines to apologise for association with Jeffrey Epstein
Peter Mandelson has declined to apologise to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for staying friends with the convicted child sex offender, and suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the financier’s sex life.The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC on Sunday, saying he had paid a “calamitous” price for his association with the “evil monster”.Lord Mandelson’s association with Epstein had long been known when Keir Starmer appointed the peer as US ambassador. However, he was removed from his diplomatic post after No 10 said it had been unaware of emails from Mandelson to Epstein suggesting the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be challenged.Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 and served time in jail but Mandelson said he had believed his excuses and continued to support him out of “misplaced loyalty” and “a most terrible mistake on my part”
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