Alyssa Healy’s first reaction to learning the women’s World Cup would not be on free-to-air was shock and frustration. But her response on social media created a whole new problem.
Having two T20s washed out isn’t the ideal preparation for an Ashes Test.
But Aussie wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy says it has only added to the excitement and anticipation of the showdown against England starting on Thursday at Manuka Oval.
From sitting in the dugout but sneaking in a celebration regardless, to the reaction to her anger at free-to-air TV overlooking the upcoming World Cup, to preparing for Thursday’s Test, Healy gives an exclusive insight into life on the Ashes Tour.
The Rain and the joker:
We sat through two washouts and spent the days sitting in the dugout at Adelaide Oval hoping we might get on and there was one person who entertained us for the weekend: Grace Harris.
It’s quite a contrast having her back in our side. She is always good for a laugh, so it was definitely not a boring dugout at any point.
She’s always very loud and very comical, talking junk. Literally, just dribble, but it’s funny dribble and some of the highlights were her stories of the shenanigans the Brisbane Heat got up to the WBBL. But then you throw in Kingy (Alana King) who’s got a great personality and Darcie Brown, who doesn’t have any idea what’s going on and it’s very, very funny. If people were sitting near us, they would have heard our group laughing for the majority of the time it was raining.
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The bookend:
At the end of every part of a series – in this case, the T20s – we like to have what we call “bookend drinks”. But because of Covid protocols, we’re not really allowed to mingle much as a large group.
Fortunately, the medical staff approved a few drinks for us and Adelaide Oval put on a dinner for us on Sunday night on the back balcony overlooking the No.2 oval.
It was actually a really nice evening for us because we haven’t been able to feel like normal human beings at any point this Ashes because we’re living in a bubble. So to be able to sit around and have a meal and share a drink together was actually really cool.
The TV rights controversy:
That morning had started with the frustrating news that our 50-over World Cup starting in March wouldn’t be broadcast on free-to-air TV and the deeper I dived into the issue the more frustrated I got.
I was just sitting there in my hotel room thinking: ‘OK, this is not a great situation to be in. It’s another slap-in-the-face situation for our sport and our team in particular’.
And I thought: ‘Well, instead of making it something really negative, how could I turn that around and make it something positive?’.
That’s when I made the decision to offer up 20 Kayo gift cards so people could watch it for the month. Messages started coming through quickly from people wanting them, but I had to get to the game and I turned my phone off. Turning my phone back on after the game was incredible.
I had 500 messages on Twitter from people wanting the gift cards, and I’d been tagged all over social media. Then Kayo announced they’d be offering coverage of our World Cup for free, which was great news.
I’m still going to stay true to my word and give 20 people free Kayo for the month … I just have to pick 20 from the 500 messages I have. I’ve got some work to do.
The Test:
We’ve arrived in Canberra leading the series 4-2 after sharing the points in those two washouts. We would have loved to have gone out there and won both those washed-out T20s, but at the end of the day, we see it as a positive because on the flip side we might have lost the first T20 and be heading into the Test down 2-4 in the points.
It makes for an exciting Test and really puts the onus on England to try to force a result, more so than us for a change. We haven’t won a Test match since 2015 – in the multi-format series it’s worth so many points (four for the win, two for a draw) that it’s actually really hard to continue to put your foot down and take the risk to win the game if it means potentially losing it.
But this time, there’s a real opportunity for someone to go out there and win, and if you’re on the England side, you kind of need to win it to stay in the Ashes.
And if you’re on our side, we’d like to win it because then you’re getting an even more of a lead in the series going into the format we’re really comfortable with: the ODIs.
We see those washed-out games as a really exciting opportunity to make the next four games fun to watch and fun to be a part of.
The Baggy Green:
I know everyone’s keen to know what happened with the missing Baggy Green. My husband (Mitch Starc) arrived in Adelaide last week and brought it with him and he threw it across the room at me with the look of: “You’re an idiot” all over his face.
I’ve been really ribbed by the team for forgetting it and I’ve spent all week trying to justify how I forgot it. But, I believe everything happens for a reason, that’s my motto in life, so there must be some reason I forgot it!
Catch up on Healy’s earlier diary entries below…
Monday, January 17, Sydney:
The departure:
It’s about 9am when I pack my luggage in the car and drive to pick up teammate Rachael Haynes from her house nearby.
For the first time in about 10 years of international touring, I reckon I’ve packed the least amount of things. I normally travel with the most amount of gear, simply because I’m a wicketkeeper, but I literally have just packed my cricket gear and golf clubs.
Rach and I are driving together to Canberra to jump on a charter flight to Adelaide with a handful of other Aussies and the English team.
With Covid concerns, the Aussies take up the first two rows and then there are about 10 rows between us and the Poms. There is zero mingling and maybe that’s a good way to start the series … it brings some of that natural rivalry and spice back.
Tuesday, January 18, Adelaide:
The forgotten item:
The text message comes through early from my husband, (Aussie quick) Mitchell Starc. It’s a photo of him holding up my baggy green and he’s written: “You might need this”.
Yep, I left my baggy green at home in Sydney.
Our baggy greens sit alongside one another in our cupboard at home and they’re at Mitch’s eye-level not mine, so I actually just walked straight past it.
The worst bit is, I’m the one who always gets on the group chat to remind everyone to pack their baggy greens, and there I was, the only one to forget it. Thankfully, Mitch has arrived in Adelaide now and brought it with him.
The bad news:
When we arrived on Monday night, we were sent into our hotel rooms and not allowed to leave until our RAT results came in, so we missed Monday night’s training session.
Tuesday morning after I tested negative, I got in the lift to go to breakfast and Beth Mooney was in there. We talked a bit, but she seemed strange, and was mumbling, which I thought was odd.
When I sat down for brekkie, Rach Haynes told me what had happened the night before: that Moons had fractured her jaw at training and was having surgery that day. It was such a shock.
The practice games:
But as a team, we needed to keep moving and Moons’s injury meant that our two trial matches planned for that day against Australia A took on a whole new meaning, with selectors needing to work out who’s going to open.
Wednesday, January 19, Adelaide:
The nets session:
My favourite nets in the country are at Adelaide Oval and I never turn down an opportunity to train there, so I rocked up to an optional training session and hit for as long as I can.
I’ve been working on correcting a few technical issues with my grip and everything is feeling good. I feel like I’m getting my mojo back.
The Pez news:
We hold our final team meeting before the series starts and the coaches put up the starting XI. Ellyse Perry isn’t selected. This is big news outside our group, but not something that anyone in our team dwelled on. Pez is a huge part of our side and our sport and it shows the evolution of our group that we have so much depth pushing for places.
Thursday, January 20, Adelaide:
The game:
The match isn’t until the evening, so I sleep in, wander the city and then spend the afternoon
literally just lying down keeping cool.
I’m not nervous, but definitely anxious to get it all underway.
At 5pm we leave for the oval. We don’t have team buses these days thanks to Covid and can only have four in a car and I’m one of the chief drivers, so I drove a few of us to the oval.
The game was excellent. I thought we bowled well and given England’s start, the fact we could restrict them to 4-169 was good. Then came the run chase, I might have lost my wicket for seven, but on the bright side, I got out of the way so T-Mac (Tahlia McGrath) could come in.
It was awesome to see Meg Lanning (64*) and McGrath (91*) bat. By the end of the game, I hadn’t even taken my pads off because I just couldn’t take my eyes off what was happening in the middle. The group was buzzing off the field watching it.
Originally published as Alyssa Healy Ashes diary: How Australian wicketkeeper turned TV snub into a positive
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