Alyssa Healy accepts she’s got “big shoes” to fill as captain at the T20 World Cup following the end of the peerless reign of Mel Lanning – but she’s determined to do the job her way as she attempts to steer Australia to a fifth straight global title in the UAE.
Under Lanning’s Midas touch, the Australian women, one of the most dominant outfits in world sport, have won the past three T20 titles as well as the 2022 crown in the 50-over format. That’s seven long years since they last failed to win a World Cup.
But if Lanning’s retirement in December has transferred huge pressure on to one of her trusty lieutenants Healy, you wouldn’t have known it as the 34-year-old sounded relaxed but ultra-determined in Dubai at the eve-of-tournament captains’ press conference on Wednesday.
Asked what the secret of Australia’s continued success was, Healy just grinned: “The secret was written down on a piece of paper from Meg and passed on to me – so I can’t give that to you.”
Quizzed further about having to follow in Lanning’s footsteps at a tournament where the opposition fancy Australia’s domination might just be on the wane, Healy added: “Everyone in this room is aware of the legacy Meg Lanning has left in the game, so there’s pretty big shoes to fill.
“But I’m not Meg, I’m Alyssa Healy, and I’ve brought that approach into this Australian team.
“I’m going to do the job the way that I know how to do it and to the best of my ability, and hopefully that does the job for Australia.
“At the moment, I’m just really enjoying the challenge of that.”
So far it’s been so good for Healy in her full-time captaincy reign, after occasionally filling in for Lanning previously.
The team has continued largely where her predecessor left off, with wins over Bangladesh, India and New Zealand setting them up again as the ones to beat in Dubai.
Healy has won her past 13 Australia matches in all formats.
But the occasional losses occur a mite more more frequently these days, with even Healy suggesting that at this World Cup, played on wickets in the Middle East that few of the teams have much of a feel for yet, all of Australia’s opponents have “a red-hot crack” at winning the title.
But she doesn’t like the idea that Australia are “defending” a title. To her, that sounds too negative.
“You don’t come here to defend the title – that’s not what the World Cup is about – you come here to win it,” she said.
An aggressive approach to taking the title under Healy can be taken as read.
“It feels like, without being disrespectful, we have been hunted for a long period of time,” she said.
“We’re constantly being asked about that, and we’re used to it now. Teams are coming really hard at us to put us under the pump, which we love.
“We know what the other nine are going to throw at us given the opportunity. We see it as a challenge and an opportunity to showcase a brand of cricket we like playing.”
As they look forward to opening their latest bid against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on Saturday, it’s clear Healy’s Australia still feel as if they are the hunters, not the hunted.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au