Australia set to announce new all-format captain after Alyssa Healy's retirement announcement
Australia are set to name an all-format captain as Alyssa Healy will be retiring after the conclusion of the home India series. Healy would be leading the Australian team in the ODIs and the one-off Test against India.
Australia are all set to announce their new all-format captain after the retirement announcement of Alyssa Healy. As per a report in 7Cricket, Sophie Molineux is set to be named the all-format captain.
Earlier this month, Healy announced that she would be retiring from all international cricket with the home series against India in February-March being her last. She won't be featuring in the T20Is as she wants the team to build a leader for the upcoming T209 World Cup later in the year.
Molineux is the captain of the Melbourne Renegades and has been leading the team since 2021. She helped the team win the 2024-25 season. This comes as a bit of a surprise, with vice-captain Tahlia McGrath not being given the role after Healy's departure. However, McGrath is not in good form, which might be the case that she misses out on the role.
Healy, who made her retirement announcement, took over the captaincy duties from legendary Meg Lanning. Speaking on shocking retirement, Healy, on podcast Willow Talk, said, "It's been a long time coming."
"The last few years has been probably more mentally draining than anything else. A few injuries. I've got to dive into the well, and the well is getting less and less full of water. Getting harder to dive back in there.
"I've always felt like I've had a competitive edge in that I want to compete, I want to win and I want to challenge myself on the park. I've felt as I've got a little bit older, I've not necessarily lost all of it, but I've lost some of that.
"I think the WBBL [last year] was probably a bit of a wake-up call. Not being able to hold the bat with two hands didn't help either, but waking up and going, 'just another day of cricket', really surprised myself because I still thought I loved playing the game."