Latest news with #AlyssaHealy
West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
WACA Ground redevelopment: WA Cricket want venue to be hub for country's women's team
WA Cricket is making a push for its redeveloped ground to become the heart of women's cricket in Australia. The $170 million redevelopment of the historic WACA Ground — which is now set for completion in November — will host a day-night Test match between Australia and India's women's teams in March next season. It will be the first international match played at the venue after its facelift and just the second Test at the ground since a men's Ashes match in 2017. Sports minister Rita Saffioti was on hand to celebrate the 'topping out' of the ground's new northern pavilion on Friday morning. The project had originally been slated for completion in the middle of the year, but that has now been pushed back to beyond the start of the domestic season. It is likely the ground will be opened in line with Perth's Ashes Test from November 21. That could open the door for England's touring side to use the facility Australian stars Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner and Western Australia's own Beth Mooney and Alana King are set to star in the Test from March 6. That match will be the WACA Ground's first-ever pink-ball Test. There had been strong momentum when Australia played South Africa at the venue early last year around the prospect of the WACA becoming a regular venue for the national team. The size of the venue, the family-friendly nature of the grass bank, the soon-to-be upgraded facilities make it a strong option for women's internationals, while the fast and bouncy wickets make for entertaining cricket and the timezone means matches are beamed into the east coast in primetime. WA Cricket chief executive John Stephenson said the ground was well placed to host more women's matches. 'I think the WACA Ground 2.0 is going to be the perfect place for women's cricket and Cricket Australia definitely acknowledge that by allocating us a women's Test match,' he said. 'It will be our first pink-ball Test match, day-night women's Test match, which is an incredible thing us historically to be staging. 'One of our priorities is developing women's cricket, so everything we do here benefits Cricket Australia. The West Australian understands Cricket Australia had been keen to host the clash with India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — after the success of last year's Ashes match there — but the schedule meant the match would be played too close to the start of the AFL season. Perry — Australia's highest-profile women's cricketer — is among the top players that have pushed for more matches to be played in Perth. The redevelopment of the facility includes the public pool and gymnasium, the nation-leading indoor cricket nets, function space and new public viewing areas.
Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
How well will IPL teams recover from the break?
The spectre of war can be cruel but also curiously galvanising. Its aftermath, however, can't always be dictated, especially in these days, and particularly for a tournament like the IPL that depends on multiple stakeholders. Key players have pulled out, venues have been changed, and more importantly, momentum has been lost. After the entire country was on edge for a week, will IPL 2025 prevail once again? Only time will tell. The IPL has been postponed before, notably because of a pandemic that had held the world hostage for nearly two years. A week of escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan however felt equally grim, specifically on the day an ongoing IPL match (May 8) had to be abandoned in Dharamsala amidst reports of nearby Pathankot coming under fire. Details from the 'WillowTalk' podcast that had Alyssa Healy—Australian women's captain and wife of Mitchell Starc—filling in with more details, paints an even bleaker picture of what actually transpired behind the scenes. 'Couple of the light towers went out and we were just there waiting. I heard a rumour a couple of seats down that we might have to evacuate the stadium cause the lights had gone down,' Healy was quoted as saying. 'And we are a large group of family and extra support staff. And next minute the guy that kind of wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus, comes up and his face was white. 'And he was like, we need to go right now'.' Inside the dressing room reigned confusion. 'The boys (players) are there. Faf (du Plessis) didn't even have shoes on,' said Healy. 'They're all just waiting there, looking stressed. I asked Mitch, 'what's going on?' And he said, 'the town 60 kilometres away had just been smacked by some of the missiles'.' Sanity could have nosedived but for the BCCI that assured the safe passage of the spectators and players that night. Barely a week has passed and the IPL is returning with tweaks and changes, but not entirely free of apprehensions. Like Delhi Capitals, who will have to live with the news of Starc not coming back for the remainder of the IPL. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, aiming for a top-two finish, are still sweating on an update from Cricket Australia (CA) regarding Josh Hazlewood. CA has taken an official stance that the decision to rejoin the IPL teams will be entirely personal. And with the World Test Championship final—featuring Australia and South Africa—set to begin at Lord's on June 11, quite a few participating players could be called away sooner or later. As of now, South Africans Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch (both Mumbai Indians) are reportedly leaving on May 30, meaning they will miss the playoffs for their respective teams. This also means reworking strategy, which for some franchises translates to going back to the white board. The towering Jansen's left-arm pace has been key to Punjab Kings stifling runs in the middle overs. Mustafizur Rahman is no Starc, and even if the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) eventually sorts out his NOC, he has too few matches to make an impact. RCB is one of the few teams lucky enough to still play at home but if Hazlewood ultimately doesn't travel, replicating his probing lengths will be almost impossible. Similarly, not having Moeen Ali for the rest of the phase means Kolkata Knight Riders will lose some edge in their spin bowling attack at a time pitches are expected to be drier. Professional teams are expected to tide over such hurdles but it could be overwhelmingly difficult for some teams who have evidently been too reliant on a few players. Gujarat Titans are just one win away from making the playoffs but that is when they are set to lose Jos Buttler, who will join the England ODI team. Which means losing out on a third of their most successful run-scoring trio (Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan being the other two) just when the former England skipper might be needed the most. Kusal Perera has been drafted in, but he can't be a like-for-like replacement. For franchises like Mumbai Indians who basically thrive on momentum, no one knows how this break would have hit them. And for some of the other teams sitting on the fringe, this could be a chance to catch a break. There is always the example of KKR, who had strung just two wins out of seven games till the 2021 IPL had to be paused in May, only to return in September to win five out of the next seven matches and qualify for the Eliminator. An encore on those lines would surely spice up the business end.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘The flair he had on both sides of the wicket is pretty cool': Alyssa Healy on Virat Kohli
One of the most productive shots of Virat Kohli through his career has been his glorious cover drive. However, while it has given him a lot of runs, it was also where he has had his troubles against throughout nicking those deliveries on the fourth and fifth stump line. In the recent tour to Australia, all his dismissals were identical. He flapped his bat around a delivery near his off-stump, which he edged to the keeper, and got himself out. 'To be brave enough and drive those balls on the up is going to get you in trouble every now and then, but you've got to counter-attack as well. If you get it right, it puts it back on the bowler. But yeah, when he was unbelievably still at the crease, his head did not move. He looked so difficult to remove, and the flair he had on both sides of the wicket is pretty cool,' Alyssa Healy said, speaking on the LiSTNR Sport podcast. 'Funnily enough, Mitch actually liked bowling to him because he was like just hang it outside off-stump and Virat loved to nick it. But that's why I loved that. Everyone's saying he had this technical flaw. Yes, because he wants to hit the ball, and that's what he's done throughout his career,' Healy added. After his ton in Perth during the first Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his form dipped. 'I was in Australia over the winter and watched him have a tricky tour, but I still fully expected to see him in England this summer. Kohli struggled at first in England but was unbelievable in 2018 as captain, when he worked a method out and just left the ball. He was so patient for a player with so much attacking skill,' Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph. 'All of his tours of England were up against James Anderson and Stuart Broad so I was really looking forward to seeing him take on a new England attack. His battles with Anderson, not least at Edgbaston in 2018, were magnificent, a great spectacle. It was a proper heavyweight contest, with two world beaters going up against each other. It was so enthralling,' he added. However, the 36-year-old has announced his retirement earlier and won't take part in the marquee India vs England Test series starting in June.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
David Warner makes bombshell call about playing in Pakistan after his Aussie teammates were 15 minutes away from death in missile attack during conflict with India
Cricket star David Warner has confirmed he is returning to Pakistan - just days after just a number of fellow Australian players narrowly escaped an Indian missile strike as they fled to Dubai. Warner, 38, is playing for the Karachi Kings, who sit second in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after eight matches. It is anticipated the remainder of the T20 tournament will be staged in Lahore and Islamabad from May 17 after both Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire. Other Aussie players taking part in the PSL include the likes of Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott. The stars were fortunate to miss a Indian missile strike on the airbase from which they left to travel to Dubai. When it comes to Aussie stars taking part in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pat Cummins is tipped to fly back, with fixtures also due to be played from May 17. Cummins' manager Neil Maxwell confirmed the paceman will be back to skipper Sunrisers Hyderabad. 'Pat has a responsibility as captain of the franchise and is looking at returning,' he said. Fellow quick Josh Hazlewood is in doubt due to a shoulder injury, with Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Starc the other members of the Test squad playing in the IPL. Australian women's captain Alyssa Healy, who was in Dharamsala with her husband Mitchell Starc when the game between Delhi Capitals and Ricky Ponting's Punjab Kings was abandoned, described the scenes as 'surreal.' 'All of a sudden, a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there next minute the guy who organises the group of us, his face was white,' she told the Willow Talk podcast. 'He was like, 'We need to go right now. 'Then [another] guy came out and his face was white, and he grabbed one of the children and said, 'We need to leave right now. 'We were like, 'What's going on?' We weren't told anything. We had no idea. Australian women's captain Alyssa Healy (pictured, with husband Mitchell Starc) labelled the recent scenes in India 'surreal' 'Next minute, we are down being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. 'We were all just waiting there looking stressed. I said to Mitch, 'What's going on?' 'He said the town 60 kilometres away had just been smacked by some of the missiles, so there was a complete blackout in the area. 'That's why the lights were the Dharamsala Stadium was like a beacon at that point in time.
News18
14-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
Australia Cricketer Recalls 'Terrifying' Experience During IND-PAK Conflict
Last Updated: An IPL league match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was stopped midway as precautionary measure during the India-Pakistan conflict. Australia women cricket team captain Alyssa Healy has recalled how players, their families, member of support staff and others endured a 'terrifying' experience while being evacuated to a safe location from Dharamsala where an IPL 2025 match was abandoned due to the escalating tensions at the India-Pakistan border last week. A league match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was held at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala last Thursday and 10.1 overs into the fixture, the floodlights at the venue were switched off with the officials requesting the crowd to start leaving the venue as precautionary measure. The contest was abandoned. With the nearest airport in Dharamsala shut, the players and their families were taken via bus and then train to New Delhi from where Healy, wife of Delhi Capitals fast bowler Mitchell Starc, took a flight home. 'It was a surreal experience," Healy told Willow Talk Cricket Podcast. 'All of a sudden a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there up the top (of the stadium) waiting." 'We're a large group of family and extra support staff and the next minute the guy who wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus came up and his face was white. He was like, 'We need to go right now,'" she added. Healy said she they were kept inside a room for a while before leaving the venue. 'Then (another) guy came out and his face was white and he grabbed one of the children and said, 'We need to leave right now.' We were like, 'What's going on?' We weren't told anything. We had no idea. Next minute we are down being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. All the boys were in there. Faf didn't even have shoes on. We were all just waiting there looking stressed," Healy said. 'We ended up going south-west towards the border which was a little bit terrifying," Healy told Willow Talk. 'Mitch and I have played too much Call of Duty and we're noticing all the SAM (surface to air missile) sites that were just sitting there ready to go. They're radar-operated systems that shoot missiles at aircraft. (We saw) a few of them on the way through in some small towns," she added. With the two countries announcing ceasefire, the IPL will now resume later this week. First Published: May 14, 2025, 10:26 IST
