alyssa healy is preparing for a one-off pink-ball farewell Test at the WACA in Perth starting on Friday, closing a 16-year international career while insisting she feels fine and is not sad. She arrives off a match-winning ODI 158 off 98 that helped secure an 8-4 lead in the multi-format series and wants a Test result for Australia. Fans and teammates have mounted special tributes as alyssa healy looks forward to enjoying every moment of the swansong before a well-earned rest on the couch.
Alyssa Healy’s farewell script
alyssa healy has framed the last match of her international career not as a moment for nostalgia but as a final on-field mission. She will lead Australia onto the field for the pink-ball Test and bat in the middle-order rather than keeping, with Beth Mooney now established as Australia’s full-time wicketkeeper. The farewell has followed form: Healy returned to spark an ODI whitewash over India and produced a blistering 158 off 98 balls in her ODI finale, contributions that reinforced the aura she brings to the dressing room.
On-field moments, off-field meaning
Healy has repeatedly told reporters, “I’m okay. I’m all good, ” and has picked moments to reflect. She said she was moved when she presented teenager Lucy Hamilton with her cap before an ODI, recalling, “I got a little emotional writing Lucy Hamilton’s cap presentation. That kind of reaffirmed to me that it’s hard work getting your cap and debuting for Australia. ” The gesture reminded her of a debut that began with white-ball matches against New Zealand when she was 19, the same age as Hamilton, and reinforced how lucky she feels to have had a 16-year run.
The Test format itself has been scarce for Healy: she has played just 10 Tests in her career and has narrowly missed a Test century before, once racing to 99 at the WACA in the only prior match there before succumbing to the offspin of debutant Delmi Tucker.
Immediate reactions from the ground
alyssa healy has been clear about her mindset: “I’m not going out there to make a duck, ” she grinned, and “If three figures come up then so be it. At the end of the day, I just want to contribute to team success and what that looks like… we’ll wait and see. ” Those words have set the tone inside the camp as teammates and fans prepare for an emotional farewell. The WACA ground has been dressed for the occasion: a temporary renaming of the grassy hill as “Healy Hill” and the distribution of cardboard cutouts of her face on day two underline the scale of the send-off.
The revamped WACA that will host the match was unveiled following a major Improvement Project that included a new aquatic centre with a giant red cricket ball-shaped water slide dubbed “The Spinner. ” The water slide has become a running joke in the squad, with Healy saying she has been assured the team can have a go and wondering whether she will take a turn amid forecast heat for the early days of the Test.
Quick context
Healy’s international journey began when she was 19 during white-ball matches against New Zealand, and over 16 years she has appeared in just 10 Tests. Her return to the side during this series reignited Australia’s form after an unconvincing T20I leg earlier.
What’s next
With the multi-format series poised such that India can still draw the contest with a Test win, alyssa healy’s priority remains a positive result for Australia before she steps away. She has said she is excited for life after cricket and plans to rest on the couch, but not before attempting to help secure the win that will make this farewell extra special. Expect the WACA crowd, the hill renamed in her honour and possibly a celebratory slide down “The Spinner” to feature in the closing chapters of a storied career led by alyssa healy.
