Australia Hit by Bad News as Star Player Ruled Out Due to Injury, Replacement is Named

New Delhi: Alyssa Healy, the captain and wicketkeeper-batter of Australia’s women’s cricket team, has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series in New Zealand. Healy is still recuperating from a foot injury that was aggravated during the Ashes series played in Australia.

“My understanding is that there’s no doubt that she’ll get through to the World Cup, that’s for sure,” Australia chief selector Shawn Flegler told reporters. “She’s had a complicated last couple of years with some different injuries that’s been related to foot…some Achilles and stuff.

“We certainly don’t want to rush it. As far as I’m aware, there’s no risk that she’ll miss out on that World Cup.”

Australia has announced a 14-player squad for the T20I series, with Tahlia McGrath appointed as captain. In place of Healy, McGrath led the team to victory in last year’s T20 World Cup and also helped Australia retain the Ashes.

Who is Alyssa’s replacement?
Victoria’s wicketkeeper-batter Nicole Faltum has earned her first international selection. The 25-year-old player from Melbourne Renegades has accumulated 429 runs from 51 innings in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).

Although her overall record may not stand out, she has been in strong form recently. In the previous edition, she made 136 runs from eight innings, with an average of 27.20 and a strike rate of 134.65. She also registered her first WBBL half-century, having made her debut in 2017.

“We just see Nic slightly ahead of the others, particularly for the T20 format,” Flegler said. “It’s really unlikely that she will play. Obviously, Beth will take the gloves for this tour and she did a really good job during the Ashes replacing Alyssa.

“But we just thought it was a great opportunity for Nicole to come in and be around the group, train with them and get to see the environment first hand.”

The T20I series is set to start on March 21 at Eden Park in Auckland. The following two T20Is will take place at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and Sky Stadium in Wellington on March 23 and 26, respectively.

Australia’s T20I squad for New Zealand tour:
Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham