Healy reflects on golden summer

So hectic has Australia’s golden summer of success been, Alyssa Healy admits she’s barely had a moment to sit back and take it all in.

That will change after Sunday’s final game of the international season, which is also the last official match until July for the Australian women’s team – and when Healy does get a chance to put her feet up she’ll have no shortage of personal and team highlights to look back on.

The Australian wicketkeeper started the home summer with back-to-back T20I half-centuries against New Zealand, playing a pivotal role in securing a series whitewash for the hosts.

She continued that form against Pakistan in Malaysia in October, falling just shy of a second ODI ton when she was dismissed for 97 in the final one-dayer.

Then, Healy took all before her at November’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies, amassing 225 runs at 56.25 in five innings to be crowned player of the tournament as Australia claimed an unprecedented fourth title.

The golden run continued on home soil in the Rebel WBBL, where Healy struck 445 runs including a century against the Adelaide Strikers at Hurstville Oval.

The Sixers’ defeat to the Heat in the WBBL final was a rare blemish in a golden summer, but Healy didn’t have to wait long to taste that winning feeling again as she captained NSW Breakers to the 50-over domestic title just two weeks later.

Two days later, Healy swept the pool at the Australian Cricket Awards, named the ODI and T20I Player of the Year before taking out her first Belinda Clark Award.

Now, the final stanza of the summer is playing out in the 50-over format, as Australia took to bookend their summer with another series whitewash against New Zealand.

They have an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into Sunday’s final Commonwealth Bank ODI at Junction Oval.

“It’s been a real blur,” Healy said in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“I probably haven’t sat down and reflected completely on it.

“Obviously personally it’s been really pleasing and I’ll take a lot of confidence out of it.”

Another big year is looming for Australia, who will travel to the UK for the multi-format Ashes in July, play limited-overs series against West Indies (away) and Sri Lanka (home) and take part in the first standalone WBBL season, all before they defend their T20 World Cup title on home soil next February.

For Healy, the upcoming six-week player leave period will be a chance not only to reflect on the successes of the last year, but also to plot how she can continue her form into the busy 12 months ahead.

“I’ll probably sit down once we start our leave period and maybe have a beer or two and reflect on what it’s been like and what I did to get there,” she said.

“And hopefully I can re-enact that for the next 12 months.”

The third and final ODI on Sunday, beginning 10.50am local time, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and the Seven Network and can be live streamed via Kayo, with news, scores and highlights on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App.