Alyssa Healy passes fitness test and will bat at No.4 in day-night MCG Test with Georgia Voll opening on debut as Ashleigh Gardner returns
Healy takes place, Voll debuts in Aussie Test XI
Alyssa Healy will lead Australia in the day-night Ashes Test at the MCG, while Georgia Voll is making her Test debut as the hosts bowl first in the historic match.
Healy won the toss and opted to put England in to bat ahead of the first ever pink-ball Test at the iconic venue, where the hosts will be eyeing an unprecedented 16-0 sweep of the multi-format series.
Australia XI: Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy (c), Annabel Sutherland, Beth Mooney (wk), Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Kim Garth, Alana King, Darcie Brown
England XI: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Sophie Ecclestone, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell
Healy declared herself "good to go" on the eve of the match but her participation was still subject to selectors and medical staff agreeing her troublesome right foot was up to the four-day game.
Voll will become the 185th woman to play Test cricket for Australia after Australia great Belinda Clark presented the 21-year-old Queenslander with her Baggy Green in the lead-up to the coin toss.
She will open the batting alongside Phoebe Litchfield, while Ashleigh Gardner has also been passed fit to play after overcoming the minor calf strain that kept her on the sidelines throughout the T20I leg of the Ashes.
It means leg-spinner Georgia Wareham and pace bowler Megan Schutt are the unlucky squad members to miss out.
England meanwhile have made one change to the XI that thrashed South Africa in a Test in Bloemfontein last month, with in-form batter Sophia Dunkley replacing off-spinner Charlie Dean.
Kate Cross was ruled out of the match on Wednesday, with captain Heather Knight saying that although the veteran pace bowler had trained strongly in her return from a back injury, she had not reached the level required to feature in the Test.
In a nod to the past, Healy wore former Australia captain Betty Wilson’s Test blazer out to the coin toss, and said she chose to bowl hoping the pitch would do a bit early with a bit of grass coverage.
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 Method)
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 until Feb 2. Learn about the remarkable 90-year history at the Women's Ashes Hub