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Alyssa loves her ‘keeper’ role
She might have one of the most popular surnames in Australia and in cricket but that does not add any pressure to Alyssa Healy, the niece of Australian great Ian Healy and the daughter of Greg Healy. Like her uncle, Alyssa is also a right-handed wicket keeper and the cricket family got strengthened when Alyssa got engaged to Australian speedster Mitchell Starc.
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Chennai
After a gruelling training session at the Guru Nanak College ground here on a hot afternoon, Healy said she was fortunate to come from a cricketing family. “I wasn’t interested in cricket early in my life. I just fell into the game at the right time,” she said.
However, Healy became a wicket-keeper by accident. “I wanted to become a fast bowler. Somehow I never grew as a bowler and landed myself a wicket-keeping job. I love it now,” the 25-year-old said.
Healy admitted that cricket is never a part of a conversation at home. “Mitchell and I leave cricket to the coaches. We do not talk about cricket at home. But I am fortunate to have Mitchell as we know each other well. I get that support from him after a hard day at work,” Healy added.
Being the good fiancé, Starc helped Healy with tips on the conditions in India. “We did have a few discussions about the grounds. Although he hasn’t been here many times, his little experience has been valuable,” Healy said.
Having trained together, Healy said she prefers not to face Starc even at the nets. “We were together in our younger days and he went on to grow up to 6 feet 5 inches. I did stand at the other end when he was bowling after recuperating from an injury. I do not want to face him when he is at his best. It is scary,” she laughed.
With the International Cricket Council promoting women’s games well, Healy said she was fortunate to not have a gender bias. “Cricket Australia has been treating us on par with the men, in terms of facilities and game promotion. We hope all the other nations follow suit to make it better,” Healy said.
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