To stand out among the standouts takes someone special. Alyssa Healy is just that |
On the back of the NSW Breakers’ training and playing apparel is the number 1934. It signifies the year the NSW women’s team was formally constituted, having played their maiden first-class fixture against Victoria.
Despite having a match recorded in the late 19th century, 1934 is the start of the formal evolution of the women’s game in NSW. The men’s team has 1856 on its clothing, pointing to the first intercolonial game in that year.
It is a significant origin for a sport that had serious consideration almost 100 years ago, but never truly strode into the mainstream of national and professional sports until the mid-1990s when the National Championships morphed into the Women’s National Cricket League. Belinda Clark, Christina Matthews and Lisa Keightley led the way into a record-breaking 20 titles, then the Blackwell sisters, Alex and Kate, and Lisa Sthalekar handed the baton to Ellyse Perry et al.
The list of NSW international representatives now approaches 100. To stand out among the standouts, a player needs to be better than special, and we are about to see the end of the storied and innovative career of such a woman.
Alyssa Healy has been an all-rounder of the more recent iteration: a wicketkeeper-batter in an age when keepers are more likely to be considered for selection firstly for their batting skills and then for their glove work.
Her life story is both standard and exceptional. Playing junior cricket in the boys teams was de rigeur for any aspiring young girl who loved the game and wanted to play every day, inspired by the men’s and the women’s elite teams. Her skills and desire matched any of the boys, but she did not get to keep wickets. The........