Delay sets up Healy's dream milestone match

Injury forced Alyssa Healy to wait an extra couple of months to bring up her 250th game for Australia, but the national skipper is the first to admit the delay has added a certain romance to the occasion.

Healy would have played the milestone game in late July against Ireland at Clontarf Cricket Club, if not for a freshly fractured finger that ruled her out of the final ODI (and The Hundred) that followed.

Now, the 33-year-old is set to become just the third Australian woman to play 250 games across all formats on her home turf at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, in front of friends and family.

"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason," Healy told The Scoop podcast this week ahead of Sunday’s first T20I against West Indies.

"And maybe that little knock to the finger was exactly what I needed a) to come home and have a rest but b) also to get the opportunity to pass a milestone at home.

"I hate milestone games. They've never gone very well for me, so hence why I've been trying to keep it on the down low.

"But to do it at North Sydney Oval, which is a fairly iconic ground for us in the women's game is pretty special, so I'm pretty lucky."

Healy made the first of her 249 appearances in the green and gold to date back in February 2010, and has since played in 144 T20Is, 98 ODIs and seven Tests.

She is just the third Australian woman to the milestone behind former vice-captain Alex Blackwell (251 games) and current teammate Ellyse Perry (288) in the exclusive club.

"It's daunting as all hell, I won't lie to you," Healy said.

"Every time it gets mentioned I just feel older and older.

"It's a lot of cricket. That's a lot of warm ups.

"I mean, that's not even domestic games in there, that's just for Australia.

"But when you're growing up wanting to play for Australia you'd take just one game, wouldn't you?

"I'm really lucky to have played 249 of them and fortunately, I still feel like I've still got a little bit to give.

"To get over that 250 mark will be really special, and Mitch (Starc) played his 250th in the last game of the Ashes series.

"To have 500 games in the household is a pretty remarkable feat and one we're both quietly pretty proud of."

Australia’s three-game T20I and three-game ODI series against West Indies is just the start of what will be a bumper summer for the world’s top-ranked team.

A multi-format tour of India will follow – featuring their first Test on the subcontinent since 1984 – before Australia return home for a multi-format series against South Africa.

Their first trip to Bangladesh in a decade, and the first for a bilateral series, will round out the summer in March.

New challenges and a strong belief she can still find improvements in her own game are what continue to drive Healy after almost 14 years of playing at international level.

"Cricket is one of those games that you never truly master," she said.

"Don Bradman got as close as anybody is ever going to get but still wasn't perfect.

"The fact that at 33, I'm still learning a bit about myself and a bit about my batting in particular, and some areas that I can open up to improve, I think has been really cool.

"I've also been really lucky over the last couple of seasons to be afforded some new opportunities, whether it be playing the WIPL, captaining in your country, and ticking off some milestone things that just keeps you going and keeps you refreshed and reinvigorated."

CommBank T20s v West Indies 2023

First T20: October 1, North Sydney Oval, 12pm AEDT

Second T20: October 2, North Sydney Oval, 7.05pm AEDT

Third T20: October 5, Allan Border Field, 7.05pm AEDT

CommBank ODIs v West Indies 2023

First ODI: October 8, Allan Border Field, 10.35am AEDT

Second ODI: October 12, Junction Oval, 10.05am AEDT

First ODI: October 14, Junction Oval, 10.05am AEDT

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20Is only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King (ODIs only), Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

West Indies squad: Hayley Matthews (c), Shemaine Campbelle (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams