Australia women’s cricket team captain Alyssa Healy on Wednesday revealed she had suffered severe injuries to her right index finger after being bitten by her pet Staffordshire terrier puppies, and the wicketkeeper-batter added she is excited to be back on the field following a surgery and 50 stitches.
Nearly two months after the incident, Healy will not just lead the side as full-time captain for the Test and white-ball series, she will also be keeping wickets.
Alyssa suffered grievous injuries to her right hand in October trying to separate her two Staffordshire terrier puppies.
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The 33-year-old said during a media interaction at the Wankhede Stadium here ahead of the one-off Test against India that she still “cannot feel any sensation on the inside part of her right index finger”, though she is excited to wear the big gloves during the match.
“Finger-wise, all good. It has been nice to get back into the game. I did not realise how much I would miss it, watching the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) at home and coming over here and getting the opportunity to keep again and have a bat,” said Healy, who played just one game for Sydney Sixers before the incident happened.
“(The) finger has pulled up really well and, yeah, I’ll have the gloves on tomorrow, which I’m excited for,” Healy added.
The one-off Test here will be the start of a new era for Australian women’s cricket with Alyssa taking charge as full-time skipper following the retirement of Meg Lanning, who led the side for 13 years.
Alyssa had also led the side in the one-off women’s Ashes Test earlier this year in June, which Australia won by 89 runs at Nottingham.
“It is unbelievably huge shoes to fill in the sense of replacing Meg Lanning. The success that she had not only as a player but obviously as a leader of the Australian cricket team, is fairly unmatched right around the men’s and the women’s game,” she said.
“Big shoes to fill on my part. But one that is really a challenge. My approach to it (captaincy) is about taking this group on (to) the next chapter. We have built an amazing legacy over the last 10 years with Meg, Rach (Rachael Haynes) and (former women’s coach) Matthew Mott,” she said.
Healy said it is time for the next generation of players to take centre stage after a strong last few months.
“We have had a lot of change over the last 12-18 months within our squad and around our team as well. The opportunity (is there) to create something new and give the floor to the next generation of players to leave their mark on the game,” she said.
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