“I won’t be wicketkeeping this series … but there’s not a lot of cricket leading into the Ashes, so for me, it’s an opportunity to try and get back on the park, as a batter, and try and find some runs more importantly,” Healy said on Wednesday.
“I feel like I’ve hardly played any cricket for the last eight or nine months and there’s a good opportunity to do that. The knee’s tracking well, it’s just a day-by-day thing, and we’ll just assess as we go.”
“We’ve been transitioning for a little while, getting some youth in the side,” Healy said. “But obviously forced hand with some injuries at the moment. I think we’re in a really great space, the depth in Australian cricket is really strong.
“And everyone who keeps stepping in, to take my job in particular, seems to make my runs or take wickets, so we’re in a good space at the moment.”
“I just remind them we pumped them in the round game, but they’re okay to have the trophy,” Healy said. “There is an air of disappointment around our group after the World Cup, I don’t think there is any way to beat around that.
“I think the discussions that have come post that have been really promising, and where we want to take our cricket moving forward and how we want to play our style of game, as sad as that may seem.”
New Zealand are in danger of missing direct qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup with this three-match series their last of the current Women’s Championship. They are currently sixth in the table with two automatic spots to claim alongside hosts India and already-qualified Australia, England and South Africa. Bangladesh and West Indies, who are below them, still have matches to play.
A crowd of 4000 is expected at the Basin Reserve on Thursday although the forecast is poor before being more promising for the matches on Saturday and Monday.
