A calf strain sustained in Saturday’s seven-run series-clinching victory against India women has caused Australia captain Alyssa Healy ruled out from Tuesday’s fifth and final T20I against India at Brabourne Stadium.
The vice-captain, Tahlia McGrath, said in the pre-game press conference that she will captain Australia in the series’ final game. During Australia’s defense of 173, she had taken over as captain.
Alyssa, who replaced Meg Lanning as Australia’s captain for the tour of India, hurt her calf while batting in the fourth T20I’s sixth over. After being injured and forced to leave the game, she limped off the ground.
Tahlia has led Adelaide Strikers to their first Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) title in November. She will now lead Australia’s women’s T20I team becoming the eighth player to do so.
I had to try and stay calm
“I’m new to leadership in this team and have been learning a lot on the fly and it probably worked in my favor that I didn’t have long to think about it, I was strangely calm out there, I had a lot of support. I had to try and stay calm and keep the team calm.”
“I’ve come off the back of captaining strikers for six weeks where it’s high pressure, the best players in the world are there and that’s what it felt like, I was captaining the strikers with a few extra players,” she said on her first brush in captaining Australia.
We’ve got a lot of options
Alyssa’s opening partner Beth Mooney will be in the role of keeping for Tuesday’s game. In both domestic cricket and the WBBL, Beth has kept wickets for the Perth Scorchers.
Who will replace Alyssa at the top of the sequence is still not decided. Tahlia herself is one more opening possibility, then Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, and Ellyse Perry. Each of the four players had prior WBBL experience starting the inning.
When asked about who opens the inning Tahila said, “We haven’t decided yet… but I think the good news is we’ve got a lot of options, whether Pheebs (Litchfield) comes in, she’s done it in the Big Bash, myself, Pez (Perry)… we’ve got so many options but we’ll have to wait and see”
Also Read: IPL 2023 Auction: Mumbai Indians (MI) Current Squad, Coach Name, Remaining Purse, Players On Target
