Will Alyssa Healy Play Against India? Australia’s Head Coach Has An Answer

According to Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke, the team will take a final call in the next 24 hours regarding Alyssa Healy’s participation in the Women’s T20 World Cup clash against India at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Earlier, Australia bolstered their position after securing a nine-wicket win over Muneeba Ali’s Pakistan.

Australia’s massive concerns are fast bowler Vlaeminck and captain Healy's injuries. Vlaeminck landed on his knee and injured her right shoulder. The star pacer replaced Grace Harris in the playing XI and was out without bowling a single ball.

On the other hand, Healy suffered an injury on her foot. She collected 37 off 23 balls with the help of five fours as Australia managed to chase down the total with nine overs left in their innings. 

“So, obviously, we lost Taylor pretty early in the game, which was pretty devastating. And I think as someone said earlier, the players were probably pretty shaken out there, and she's got a dislocated shoulder that's now back in place. And that's just a matter of assessing that in the next 24 hours and sort of seeing where that finishes up,” Nitschke said.

“And obviously Alyssa coming off at the end with a foot injury as well. And again, it's pretty early days. So, it's just over the next 24 hours that will be assessed. But yeah, I think it's pretty devastating, particularly for Taylor, who's had a tough road back and playing in her first World Cup for a little while, so in first game for the tournament. So, the girls are pretty supportive in getting around both her and Alyssa at the moment,” Nitschke added.

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy(w/c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Phoebe Litchfield, Grace Harris, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown, Kim Garth, Alana King, Tayla Vlaeminck.