Australia captain Alyssa Healy seemed to drop a major hint about her ODI future after the huge defeat to India in the 2025 Women’s World Cup semi-final in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, suggesting that she ‘won’t
be there’ when the next edition comes around in 2029.
Healy oversaw one of the rare skittish performances from the world-beating Aussies in the huge game. They put up a massive 338-run score in the first innings after opting to bat first (a highly debatable call in itself), but even that looked like 40 runs short considering the great start. In the second innings, several fielders, including Healy, dropped easy catches and failed to build consistent pressure despite having a quality bowling attack.
“I won’t be there!” Healy said when asked about Australia’s plans for the next World Cup. “Oh, I think that’s the beauty of this next cycle. We’re going to see that unfold. Obviously, there’s a T20 World Cup in the middle of next year, which is going to be really exciting for our group as well. But I think our one-day cricket is probably going to shift a little bit again. We did so much right, we’ll learn, grow, and get better.”
Healy would be 39 in 2029, and given her injury history and the growing intensity of the game, it would be a surprise if she decided to continue beyond the next couple of years.
‘We did that to ourselves’: Healy
“Good contest in the end. Probably reflecting on that, we did that to ourselves a little bit. That’s probably the first time I have felt that,” Healy said after the match. “We didn’t finish well with the bat, didn’t bowl that great, and dropped chances in the field. But ultimately, we were outdone in the end.”
“I think everyone contributed beautifully throughout this tournament. That’s why it’s probably really disappointing to be standing here right now,” Healy said. “We created enough. We created pressure. We created opportunities. We just weren’t able to capitalise on them.”
