Aussie skipper’s injury woes persist as WBBL breakout star earns maiden call-up

Alyssa Healy’s foot injury has officially kept her out of Australia’s upcoming T20 tour of New Zealand with the captain needing to continue her rehabilitation.

Healy battled with her fitness throughout the multi-format Ashes series during the home summer after rupturing her plantar fascia during the T20 World Cup in October.

The 34-year-old missed the T20s against England, but played the ODIs and historic day-night Test match after earlier in the summer missing the series against India and part of the WBBL with a knee issue.

Healy played as a specialist batter, handing wicketkeeping duties to Beth Mooney, and revealed after the Test at the MCG that she took the field with a stress reaction in her right foot.

But she skipped the current Women’s Premier League in India and will sit out of the battle with the reigning T20 World Cup champions as she looks to heal ahead of October’s ODI World Cup defence in India.

Taking Healy’s place in the 14-player squad will be Victorian and Melbourne Renegades wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum, who will serve as backup to Mooney, while Tahlia McGrath will take the reins as captain with Ashleigh Gardner serving as deputy.

It is the first time Faltum has been selected in an Australian squad after the 25-year-old has previously represented Australia A and captained the Governor-General’s XI against England last month.

Faltum across town from the Melbourne Stars to the Renegades ahead of the WBBL and the shift paid off as she enjoyed a career-best tournament for the champions, scoring 136 runs at 134.64 as a middle-to-lower order finisher on top of her tidy glovework.

“It’s exciting to be able to bring Nicole into the squad, she’s been a consistent performer over a long period of time and will provide a strong back-up option to Beth who will take the gloves during the series,” Cricket Australia’s Head of Performance and National Selector Shawn Flegler said.

“While Beth was brilliant during the Ashes in Alyssa’s absence, it’s important we’re continuing to look to the future and Nicole is certainly someone who we can see wearing the green and gold for a long period of time.

“Alyssa is unavailable for this series due to the foot injury she sustained during the Ashes.

“She’s working diligently on her rehab with the aim to have her fit for the one-day World Cup later in the year.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 01: Nicole Faltum of Melbourne Renegades bats during Weber Women's Big Bash League (WBBL10) Final T20 match between Melbourne Renegades Women and Brisbane Heats Women at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 01, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Santanu Banik/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Faltum coming in for the injured Healy is the only change to the squad that won all three T20Is in the Ashes as left arm spinner Sophie Molineux and speedster Tayla Vlaeminck continue their recovery from respective knee and shoulder injuries.

All three matches in the series will be played as double headers with New Zealand’s men facing Pakistan.

Auckland’s Eden Park, Tauranga’s Bay Oval and Wellington’s Sky Stadium will be the venue for the matches taking place on March 21, 23 and 26.

Australia T20 squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham