Prepare turners at your own peril: New Aussie skipper Healy dares India

PTI, Dec 9, 2023, 10:47 AM IST

credit: @AusWomenCricket / X

Melbourne: Newly appointed Australia women’s team captain Alyssa Healy has dared Indian team management to prepare rank turners during their upcoming tour of the country, ”at your own peril” as the visitors too boast of a potent slow bowling attack.

Healy was officially named as Australia full-time skipper across formats on Saturday following Meg Lanning’s shock retirement last month.

She said that India would risk themselves by opting for tracks that offer turn as the Australian spinners are on par with their sub-continental counterparts. ”I’m actually really intrigued to see as to what sort of wickets they prepare. I think we’ve got a really, really good spin attack. So do that at your own peril. Don’t get me wrong, the Indians have got a strong spin attack as well,” Healy was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.

”But I mean, we’ve got some of the best leg-spinners in the world. We’ve got Ash Gardener, who took nine wickets on English soil with the ball in hand. So yeah, prepare spinning wickets at your own peril.

”It will be interesting to see if they make it nice and flat. But I haven’t played at Wankhede (Stadium) since the IPL exhibition game a couple of years ago, so I’m excited for that experience,” she added.

In Gardner, veteran left-arm tweaker Jess Jonassen and leg-spinners Alana King and Georgia Wareham, Australia have named four spinners in their 16-member touring squad for India. The tour will feature a one-off Test, three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The series will commence with the Test on December 21 in Mumbai. Healy was originally doubtful for the tour after the wicketkeeper suffered a severed injury in her right index finger, while trying to separate her two dogs.

But since then she has recovered and is hopeful of featuring in the series opener. If Healy is unavailable, her newly-appointed deputy Tahlia McGrath will lead the side. ”Everything is going really, really well. I started back in the nets over the last week-and-a-half, so I’m on track to fly to India for a big series over there,” Healy said.

”I actually always thought I was a couch potato, but spending three weeks on the couch, not even being able to sweat, was a real struggle for me. It wasn’t much fun.

”But it gave me a little bit of time at home to just recoup, refresh and watch a lot of WBBL and the World Cup on Fox, then just get myself right to go,” the 33-year-old stumper added.