Australia captain and wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy has said that she felt she had lost the ‘competitive edge’ that comes with playing international cricket and that it was that edge, which may have left her ‘drained’ after having played for her country for well over a decade, eventually leading to her announcing her international retirement after the India series in February.
The 35-year-old said that she spoke to her parents and husband Mitchell Starc about calling it quits, admitting that it was the right time for her to walk away from the game.
“The timing’s right. I lost a little bit of my competitive edge … I’ve been doing it a long period of time.
“I’ve loved every minute of it, but I felt like every contest I wanted to be a part of, I wanted to compete, and it’s probably drained me a little bit more over the years,” Healy told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
The T20 World Cup in England in June offered Healy an opportunity to try and go on a high by helping Australia win the title. Yet, the right-hander felt that wanting to play the tournament when her heart and mind were not fully in the game may not have been the right thing to do for her teammates and Australia.
“To be completely honest, if I had fought my way through to the World Cup, it’s probably not doing the right thing by my teammates and probably the country as well, to half-ass that opportunity,” Healy said.
Despite having had a stellar career, Healy admitted that watching the women’s game grow over the last several years was more satisfying than the numbers she had accumulated.
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“It’s probably only today that that’s really hit me, that actually probably means more to me than the runs on the board or the dismissals. It’s about growing the game and inspiring the next generation,” she said.
India are scheduled to play three T20Is and five ODIs, starting with the 1st T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground on February 15.
