Women’s Ashes 2022: Aussie gun Alyssa Healy reveals elbow injury was behind her WBBL form slump

Alyssa Healy couldn’t buy a run in the WBBL. But after a month out of competitive cricket, the Aussie runscoring machine is confident she has corrected technical flaws in time for The Ashes.

Alyssa Healy has revealed she’s spent a month off competitive cricket ahead of next week’s Ashes series to correct technical batting flaws that had crept into her game.

The 31-year-old said the flaws – which surfaced during November’s Women’s Big Bash League and curtailed her usual dominance with the bat – were brought on by an innocuous elbow injury.

“I tore my bicep tendon apparently, which meant all the extensor muscles in my forearm just gave up … and didn’t allow me to play the game that I wanted to play,” she said.

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Alyssa Healy didn’t have the greatest WBBL campaign.

The injury affected Healy’s grip making runs a struggle. She made only 57 runs from the last seven games of the WBBL season.

Healy hasn’t played any competitive cricket since December 19, when she represented NSW in the WNCL, and has since allowed her elbow rest and rehabilitation.

She’s now back to her best in the nets and the Ashes, which begins with a T20 clash at Adelaide Oval on Thursday, beckons.

“I’ve been working on getting my hands back in the right position and I’m feeling a lot better than I have been over the last six-to-eight months, that’s for sure,” she said.

“I’ve also enjoyed just being able to get away from the game, which has been a really good thing for me, mentally, just to reset and refresh, and also use the time to get my body right and fix up those few little technical flaws.

“You never normally get (a break) in the middle of a season, so I’ve really enjoyed getting back in the nets and working really hard on a few different things. Hopefully, come Thursday, I’ll be ready to go and feeling like I’m in the position to make some runs, which will be good.”

Alyssa Healy hopes a few adjustments will get her back among the runs.

The world’s No. 2 ranked T20 batter is looking forward to a competitive Ashes series.

Three T20Is at Adelaide Oval will be followed by a four-day Test in Canberra and finally two ODIs in Melbourne.

“It’s always a really tough and fierce contest and the fact that we play the multi-format series makes it even more of a true test of skill and resilience, in trying to dominate across all three formats as well,” Healy said.

“I read a quote from (England captain) Heather Knight saying she wants her team to be really bold and brave in the way they play cricket out here against us, and that’s a fairly ominous line for us.

“They’ve got some really talented players and if they take the hand break off and play some really exciting cricket, then it’s going to be a real challenge for us.”

No guarantees in Ashes squad selection shocks

-Russell Gould

Australian selection chief Shawn Flegler couldn’t lock superstar all-rounder Ellyse Perry in to Australia’s best T20 team as he defended a decision to overlook the leading wicket-taker in the WBBL this season for this month’s Ashes showdown with England

Spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, who took 22 wickets for the Adelaide Strikers including the WBBL’s best-ever haul of 5-8, was relegated to the Australia A team with uncapped Alana King preferred in the 15-player squad for the multi-format series of three T20s, one Test match, and three ODIs.

Wellington responded to the news via social media, declaring “no matter what happens in your life, always face it with a smile”.

No matter what happens in your life, always face it with a smile

— Amanda Wellington (@amandajadew) January 12, 2022

Despite having played all three forms for Australia, including an Ashes Test in 2017, Flegler said Wellington, who played the last of her 21 games for Australia in 2018, didn’t suit the role needed of the squad’s leg-spinner this time and King did.

“We talked about this particular role for quite a period of time ... the role we want our leg-spinner to play in the different formats and we felt Alana probably plays that role a little bit better than we think Amanda would,” he said.

“They are slightly different bowlers ... we are not closing the door on Amanda, Alana has got the nod this time. Alana’s number stack up every well also.”

Amanda-Jade Wellington of the Strikers was overlooked for the Ashes squad. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Players will go in to a tight Covid bubble but Flegler conceded players including Wellington could find themselves called up to the main squad should anyone be forced in to isolation.

“And we’re confident if Covid hit the squad and Amanda was called up she could actually play a role, but a slightly different role to Alana,” he said.

King’s inclusion came with star bowlers Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt also returning after missing last year’s series against India.

Superstar Perry looms as a key part of the Test and one-day teams but Flegler refused to lock her in to Australia’s best T20 team when asked on Wednesday.

“We’ve been really clear with the type of cricket we need to play and what our batters need to be doing in T20 cricket,” he said.

“We’ll work through that over the next week. If Ellyse does get the opportunity I am sure she’ll do well. She’s played for Australia for a long time, but we always want our players to develop and evolve and Ellyse is no different to any other player in our squad.”

The veteran star made just 10 runs and only bowled two overs in the T20 series against India late last year, but did pound out 358 runs as captain of the Sydney Sixers in 13 WBBL games.

The #Ashes It just means more.

Congratulations to the 15 players selected to resume our 87-year rivalry with England! pic.twitter.com/95QFphwR2n

— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) January 11, 2022

Sophie Molineux will miss this series due to the stress fracture in her right foot that she suffered at the back end of the WBBL but could return for the one-day World Cup that will follow the multi-format series against England.

Georgia Redmayne, Stella Campbell, Maitlan Brown and Molly Strano have all been left out of the extended squad that tackled India, but all have been selected in an Australia A squad, which will also feature Wellington, to play England A.

AUSTRALIAN ASHES SQUAD

Meg Lanning (C), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck

Women’s Ashes schedule
January 20: 1st T20I, 6.40pm, Adelaide Oval
January 22: 2nd T20I, 1.40pm, Adelaide Oval
January 23: 3rd T20I, 1.40pm, Adelaide Oval
January 27 – January 30: Test Match, 10am, Manuka Oval, Canberra
February 3: 1st ODI, 2.10pm, Manuka Oval, Canberra
February 6: 2nd ODI, 10.05am, Junction Oval, Melbourne
February 8: 3rd ODI, 10.05am, Junction Oval, Melbourne
 

Originally published as Women’s Ashes 2022: Aussie gun Alyssa Healy reveals elbow injury was behind her WBBL form slump