Australia pacer Mitchell Starc made a heartwarming post on social media after his wife Alyssa Healy announced her retirement from international cricket.
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc made a heartwarming post on social media after his wife Alyssa Healy announced her retirement from international cricket. Wicket-keeper batter Healy, who has won six T20 World Cups, two 50-over World Cups and a Commonwealth Games gold in women’s cricket, announced that she would retire following Australia’s series against India in February and March. Starc captioned his post with a three-word phrase. The two have been married for nearly a decade, having tied the knot in April 2016.
“Proud of ya,” wrote Starc in a post on his Instagram story, along with a heart emoji. The 35-year-old pacer also made a separate post, celebrating Healy’s Australia career.
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Healy made the announcement on the Willow Talk podcast she co-hosts, drawing curtains on a 16-year international career.
Healy has also been one of the most productive all-format run-scorers, with her 7,106 behind only Meg Lanning (8,352) and Ellyse Perry (7,607) for Australian women.
“It’s with mixed emotions that the upcoming India series will be my last for Australia,” Healy said in a statement. “I’m still passionate about playing for Australia, but I’ve somewhat lost that competitive edge that’s kept me driven since the start, so the time feels right to call it a day.”
“Knowing I won’t be going to the T20 World Cup this year and the limited preparation time the team has, I won’t be part of the T20s against India, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to finish my career and captain the ODI and Test side at home against India – one of the biggest series on the calendar for us,” she added.
Healy’s retirement from the shortest format is immediate; she won’t take part in the three T20Is that kick off India’s multi-format tour in February. It means she will miss the chance of a hometown farewell with the first T20I the only match of the series to be played in Sydney.
Healy had frequent battles with injury in the twilight of her career, most recently a fractured thumb that sidelined her at the start of the WBBL season, while she also missed Australia’s final two ODI World Cup group games with a calf strain.
“The last few years have been probably more mentally draining than anything else. A few injuries, (I had) to dive into the well a couple of times and that well was getting less and less full of water, so it was 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,” Healy said.
She continued, “I never really wanted to do it like this; I never wanted to announce it. I just wanted to get to the end of the Test match and hang up my boots and celebrate.
