Beth Mooney & Alyssa Healy (Source: AFP Photos)
Australia suffered a major setback ahead of a high-voltage women’s World Cup clash against arch-rivals England, as captain Alyssa Healy has made herself unavailable for the battle between table toppers, scheduled to take place on Wednesday at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. The 35-year-old had suffered a calf injury, as confirmed by Cricket Australia (CA).
More significantly, the CA mentioned that Healy would “miss at least one game”, and Beth Mooney will don the big gloves behind stumps in her absence. It all happened after Healy endured a minor calf strain during a training session that took place on Saturday.
Major blow for defending champions!
Considering the fact that Healy has been the leading run-scorer in the ongoing World Cup, having made 294 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 131.25 that included a magnificent 142 against India and 113 not out against Bangladesh, the sudden blow left Australia in shock amidst another perfect World Cup campaign.
"Alyssa Healy has been ruled out of Wednesday's ODI World Cup blockbuster against England due to a calf injury, with Australia to face an anxious wait on their skipper's availability for the business end of the tournament," CA confirmed the development on Tuesday.
Tahlia McGrath to captain Australia
In Healy’s absence, Australia will have Tahlia McGrath as their captain for the England match. The stand-in captain will continue to do her job if Healy is not declared fit before Saturday, when they will play their final group stage game against South Africa at the same venue.
With four wins in five matches (and one no result), Australia have already qualified for the World Cup semi-finals with nine points. England, too, have the same points in their bag, but a better net-run-rate (+1.818) of defending champions have kept themselves at the top of the points table.
Needless to say, England would warmly welcome Healy’s absence in this high-stake contest, which is potentially decide who will finish at the top of the points table.
