Alyssa Healy named Australia captain across all three formats

SYDNEY (Agencies): Alyssa Healy has been appointed captain of Australia’s women’s cricket team across all three formats, replacing Meg Lanning following her retirement last month. The 33-year-old has been handed the role officially after leading the Australians to victory over England in June and July’s women’s Ashes series while Lanning was ruled out for undisclosed medical reasons. Lanning, who led Australia to five World Cup triumphs, announced last month that she was standing down from the role she had held since 2014 and was quitting international cricket. “I am honoured to accept the role of captain and am grateful for the opportunity to lead our team,” Healy said. “I’ve really enjoyed the support of the players over the past few months and their encouragement to continue to be who I am and lead the group like I normally would from within. “My approach will remain consistent to what it has been previously, but I’ll make my own mark on the role and be sure that I’m doing the best I possibly can for this group to maintain the success that we’ve had.” All-rounder Tahlia McGrath has been named vice-captain, with the decisions on both players ratified at a Cricket Australia (CA) meeting on Friday. “Alyssa brings a wealth of experience to the role,” CA general manager of high-performance and national teams Ben Oliver said. “We have great confidence in her ability to successfully lead the Australian women’s team in tandem with Tahlia as vice-captain.”