Alyssa Healy: The Unyielding Force Behind Australia’s Women’s Cricket Dominance
Alyssa Jean Healy was born on March 24, 1990, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. She grew up in a family with a long history in cricket. Her father, Greg Healy, was a cricketer in Queensland, and her uncle, Ian Healy, was Australia’s Test wicket-keeper from the late 1980s to 1999. He also held the world record for most Test dismissals at the time. So it was almost inevitable that she would play cricket. Ken Healy, another uncle, also played for Queensland, which made the sport a big part of the family’s life. Alyssa’s love for the sport grew later, though, when she moved to Sydney as a child and a friend encouraged her to pick up the bat. At the age of 15, she lost her older sister Kareen to a heart attack, which made her stronger. Healy went to MLC School and Barker College. At the age of 16, she became the first girl to keep wickets for Barker College’s First XI in the elite private schools’ competition in New South Wales. This milestone caused some controversy, including an anonymous email that criticized her selection. However, her school, uncle Ian, and fellow cricketer Alex Blackwell all strongly defended her, which brought attention to her merit and started bigger conversations about gender in sports.
Healy’s domestic career started with the New South Wales Breakers in the 2007–08 season. She was a specialist batter at first, scoring 78 runs at an average of 11.14 in one-day matches. After Leonie Coleman’s departure in 2009–10, she became a full-time wicket-keeper, scoring 208 runs at an average of 29.71 and leading the league with 20 dismissals. She made her big break on the international stage in February 2010 during the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand, when she filled in for the injured Jodie Fields. She made her debut in five ODIs and five T20Is, and she showed off her skills on the way to Australia’s undefeated win at the 2010 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies. Healy made her Test debut against England in January 2011, earning her 162nd cap. That same year, she made her ODI (116th cap) and T20I (29th cap) debuts against New Zealand. Her aggressive right-handed batting and sharp glovework quickly made her a key player for Australia, combining style with unyielding determination.
Alyssa’s career is full of records and wins that have changed what it means to be a wicket-keeper batter. She has the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in T20Is (92) and the highest score in a Women’s T20 International (148* off 61 balls against Sri Lanka in 2019). She broke MS Dhoni’s record of 91 dismissals in 2020. In ODIs, her 170 against England in the 2022 World Cup final is still the highest by a wicket-keeper, and she has the most dismissals overall. As of mid-2025, her career stats show how good she is: 10 Tests with 489 runs at 30.56 (highest 99), 121 ODIs with 3,445 runs at 35.15 (six centuries, including 170), and 162 T20Is with 3,054 runs at 25.24 (one century). She has won the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award in 2018, the ODI Player of the Year award in 2019, the Belinda Clark Award in 2019, and the Player of the Tournament award at the 2018 T20 World Cup. She helped Australia win the Ashes in 2015, 2017, and 2021, as well as the T20 World Cup in 2020, where she scored an unbeaten 75 in the final and was named Player of the Match.
Healy has been just as dominant in the domestic and franchise leagues. She has been the captain of New South Wales since 2018–19 and led them to Women’s National Cricket League titles in 2007–08 and 2009–10. She plays for the Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, and the UP Warriorz in India’s Women’s Premier League (WPL). However, she missed the 2025 WPL season because she had surgery on her foot and knee. Her best leadership skills showed in late 2023, when she was named Australia’s full-time captain across all formats after Meg Lanning retired. The team won the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Ashes series thanks to her leadership. Healy’s Guinness World Record for the highest cricket ball catch (82.5m in 2019) was a fun addition to her list of accomplishments, but it was later broken.
Healy’s life outside of sports is a happy mix of personal achievements and activism. She has been married to Australian pace ace Mitchell Starc since April 2016. They are the third married couple to play Test cricket. She first met him when she was nine years old and he was a wicket-keeper. The Greater Western Sydney Giants have the two best players in the world, with 12 ICC titles between them. They are also the joint number one ticket holders in 2025. Healy’s father calls her “Midge,” and she has a seven-stroke handicap in golf. She often challenges Starc in their annual “Stealy Cup.” As of 2025, her net worth is around $3 million (INR 18–20 crore), thanks to endorsements and league contracts. She has been a strong supporter of gender equality in cricket and has pushed for girls to play against boys, based on her own experiences in school. Fans love Healy’s bubbly personality and chirpy banter behind the stumps. Her story—from working at KFC in 2010 and dreaming of playing for Australia to leading a dynasty—continues to inspire.
At 35 years old, Healy is at the top of women’s cricket. She is leading Australia in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup with an average of 98 runs in four innings and a strike rate of 131.25. She has scored centuries against India (142) and Bangladesh (113*). She had a small calf strain that made her fitness level test before the semi-final against India, but she passed the tests and trained hard, showing her trademark toughness. Healy’s legacy as a record-breaker, leader, and trailblazer is still going strong, and she has her sights set on winning the World Cup as captain.