Healy puts best foot forward in encouraging fitness test

Alyssa Healy successfully got through Australia’s first pink-ball training session at the MCG on Tuesday evening in a major boost for the national captain’s hopes of featuring in the showpiece Ashes Test.

Healy missed the T20I leg of the multi-format Ashes due to a stress reaction in her foot and had spent the last week wearing a moon boot.

On Tuesday, the 34-year-old was running laps of the MCG with teammates, fully participated in a lengthy series of running and fielding drills and was the last player to leave the nets after two stints batting against the pink ball.

Allrounder Ashleigh Gardner, who also missed the T20Is due to a minor calf injury, also trained fully and looks set to feature in the match.

Healy’s situation is more complicated, given she will carry the injury into the match and needs to prove to medical staff, and herself, that she is up to enduring four days of Test match cricket.

A call is expected to have been made by the time Healy – or vice-captain Tahlia McGrath – fronts media on Wednesday.

"She's going as well as can be expected," Australia coach Shelley Nitschke told reporters at the MCG on Tuesday prior to Australia’s training session.

"You've all seen her out in a boot and taking some weight off that foot.

"She will have a test (on Tuesday), and we'll just sort of see where that lands and have some discussions about that, whether or not we think she's going to be okay for a four-day Test.

"There are repercussions around (whether she plays) and what our line-up looks, people want to know their role coming in, so as soon as we can (make a call), we will.

"It's just about keeping in mind what's best for the team and making sure we're putting the best team we can out there.

"We don't play a lot of Tests so there's some emotion involved there, but we want to do what's best for the team."

If Healy does play, it will be as a batter only, with Beth Mooney to keep wicket.

That added responsibility will see Mooney slide down into the middle-order, leaving a vacancy at the top alongside opener Phoebe Litchfield.

Healy, who has opened in three Tests, is one candidate for the job, but on Tuesday it was allrounder Annabel Sutherland who shared a net with Litchfield through the first batting rotation in the nets, while Healy was paired with Georgia Wareham.

Litchfield later shared a net with uncapped Georgia Voll, who is another option to open the batting alongside Healy and Sutherland.

Sutherland has never batted higher than No.6 in a Test match but did score a century at the top of the order in an ODI in 2023.

If Healy does play, Australia will weigh up whether to lengthen their batting line-up with the inclusion of Voll, or play a second leg-spinner in Georgia Wareham, whose sole Test appearance was in a day-night game against India in 2021.

Australia have the opportunity to complete an unprecedented multi-format Ashes sweep, as they take a 12-0 points lead into the only Test of the series.

The game will be the first day-night Test staged at the MCG, and the first women’s Test played at the venue since 1949.

That means there is little intel to for either team to guide tactics and selection, but Nitschke was confident Australia had the personnel available to take 20 wickets.

The swift change in formats following the final T20I on Saturday is another challenge for Australia and England.

"A clean sweep would be amazing … hopefully we can get into a position to make that possible but I don't think we'll get too far ahead of ourselves," Nitschke said.

"We'll look at what the pitch has played like in the Shield and Test match, and then considering the pink ball as well, and what that brings to the game ... then what's happened in the white-ball series, intel for how we're matching up.

"(Adjusting quickly) is the challenge for all teams across multi-format series, and we've had the pink-ball in and around for a little while for people to use when they want.

"I think it's something that we're getting better at, we’re starting to play a few more Tests now, but it's certainly a really quick turnaround."

Commbank Women's Ashes 2025

Australia lead the multi-format series 12-0

First ODI: Australia won by four wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by 21 runs

Third ODI: Australia won by 86 runs

First T20I: Australia won by 57 runs

Second T20I: Australia won by six runs (DLS)

Third T20I: Australia won by 72 runs

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

England squad (ODI/T20Is): Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont*, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross*, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson+, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath+, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp+, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith+, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

* ODIs only; + T20Is only

Day-night Test: January 30 - February 2: MCG, Melbourne, 2.30pm AEDT

Australia Test squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

England Test squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

The rivalry resumes with a blockbuster series in Australia from Jan 12 - Feb 2. Learn about the remarkable 90-year history at the Women's Ashes Hub