'Good luck catching us': Australian skipper Alyssa Healy 'good to go' as hosts eye Ashes title
Alyssa Healy will resume her position behind the stumps for Australia in the Women's Ashes series-opener on Sunday after passing a crucial fitness test on her knee.
The Australia skipper has been in and out of the action over the past 12 months having battled injuries to her foot and knee.
The 34-year-old featured in the green and gold in both victories over New Zealand in December but did not step into her role as wicketkeeper.
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Placed under a cloud of doubt in the build up to the series, Healy admitted she would "be lying" if she had said she didn't have fears of never 'keeping again.
"I'm good to go," Healy said.
Nat Sciver-Brunt of England bats watched by Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy. Getty
"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't any doubt off the back of a rough couple of months, but everything's progressed just as well as we would have hoped.
"I'm feeling really good. More importantly, I'm feeling really confident on it to be able to get out there and do that job. I wouldn't be doing it if I felt like I was going to let the team down."
Beth Mooney stepped into the keeping duties throughout the New Zealand Test and could return at times in the upcoming series, according to Healy, if she feels she needs to rest.
Healy said physios took a long-term approach to her rehab to ensure she could come back to international competition.
Having captained Australia to seven World Cup titles across all formats, Healy has yet to win an Ashes series while in the leadership position.
While the achievement would be one of great success for Healy, she says it is not at the top of her priorities rather hopes her team will not take out the points-based series due to a draw.
The last series, held in 2023 in England, ended with the points split 8-8, with the home nation left to watch the trophy return home to Australian soil.
"It wouldn't bother me if I was captain or not, I'd just like to win both of those things," said Healy.
"It's obviously a big 12 months for our group... but you look at this series in isolation and it is a big one for us.
"I don't want to annoy anyone and talk about moral victories.
Captain Alyssa Healy gets bowled out by Amelia Kerr of New Zealand. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
"The way it petered out at the end [hurt]," she continued.
"We put a lot of work into that Test match... but England threw a few things at us [in the ODIs and T20s] we hadn't seen before and probably took the game on a bit more and put us on the back foot.
"Leaving England, I think the girls were like, 'We do't want that to happen again.' [A drawn series] is not a great feeling for both sides.
"We're hopefully coming tomorrow throwing the first punch and saying 'good luck catching us'.
"If we can just manage our emotions and manage our bodies in particular, I think we'll go a long way to winning this."
The first ball of the series is set to be bowled at 10:30am at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, January 12.
