Healy stays positive after semifinal heartbreak, calls India defeat a ‘learning moment’

Australia captain Alyssa Healy preferred to look at the positives after her side’s heartbreaking exit from the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, following a thrilling semifinal defeat to India in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

The seven-time champions appeared in control after posting a formidable 338, but India’s spirited chase, led by Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten 127 and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s 89, saw the hosts cross the finish line with nine balls to spare, ending Australia’s title defence and their 15-match unbeaten World Cup streak.

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For Healy, the loss was especially tough, having just returned from a calf injury to lead her side in the knockout clash. Yet, despite the disappointment, the Australian skipper chose to focus on the positives from a campaign that showcased depth and balance across the squad.

“I think we’re playing some unbelievable cricket and that’s why it doesn’t quite feel right sitting here at the losing end, not sort of getting to Sunday’s fixture,” Healy said after the match. “I thought we played really well right throughout this World Cup and I simply say that because of the different contributions that we had right throughout.

“It wasn’t just one person making all the runs or taking all the wickets. I think the team contributed equally right throughout, which I think put us in a really nice place heading into this final series. So, I think there’s some huge positives out of it.

“I think this next four-year cycle leading into the next World Cup is going to be really exciting for our group and potentially see some really cool opportunities for some of the younger players to get greater opportunities in this side, which I think is going to improve the Australian team, which I think is really cool. We just weren’t able to get the job done tonight, which is disappointing,” she added.

Healy confirmed that this was her final appearance in the ODI World Cup, while remaining non-committal about her participation in next year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales. For now, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter is focused on reflecting and helping the team evolve from the experience.

“First and foremost, I think the opportunity for some of our players to play in a really high-pressure situation like that is going to do wonders for our group,” she said. “And I think this is same thing happened in 2017 (after the World Cup).

“We reflected on that and thought we could have done things a little bit better under pressure where we can be better at little certain aspects of our game moving forward. And I think we made that shift moving forward and we’ve seen it over the last cycle doing that one in 2022.

“This is just another reignition, I suppose, to our group to say, you what, we can be better at little moments of the game. But I guess for our group to experience that, to be put under pressure and see how we respond is going to do great things for us moving forward,” she added.