The Australian captain’s brilliant One Day International (ODI) career came to a fairy-tale end. Alyssa Healy Played a breathtaking innings of 158 runs in just 98 balls with her husband against India at Bellerive Oval, Hobart on Sunday. Mitchell Starc Watching proudly from the commentary box as she walked off into the ODI sunset in emphatic style. The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman’s farewell innings was nothing short of spectacular, comprising 27 fours and two sixes in a masterclass of aggressive strokeplay that unsettled the Indian bowling attack.
Guard of honor before Alyssa Healy’s final ODI innings
The sentiment was clear even before Healy took strike. As she walked out to open the batting with Phoebe Lichfield 3rd ODIThe Indian women’s team, led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, formed a guard of honor to acknowledge the immense contribution of the retired great to women’s cricket. BCCI Women shared pictures of the tribute on social media, which captured the moment Harmanpreet shook hands with her long-time rival when Healy reached the crease.
#TeamIndia Before the start of the game today, a guard of honor was given to Australian captain Alyssa Healy, who is playing her last ODI match.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Vb9dg1dfhE
– BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) 1 March 2026
The gesture represents the deep respect the cricket world has for Healy, who has been one of the most influential figures in the development of the game over his 16 years at the highest level.
Alyssa Healy scored 150 runs in just 95 balls
Having brought up his century in just 79 balls, Healy accelerated further to score 150 off 95 balls, troubling the Indian bowlers with his characteristic blend of power and accuracy. The Australian captain looked set for a double century before Sneh Rana finally ended his innings in the 37th over with a high full-toss, which Healy missed while attempting a reverse sweep.
Her innings of 158 left Australia in a strong position at 3-281 when she departed, with a total of 400 or more appearing within their reach. This innings added 3,777 ODI runs to his career at an average of 37.02, including eight centuries and 19 fifties in 126 matches.
See also: Alyssa Healy receives guard of honor from Indian players in her final ODI
Throughout his innings, Healy was watched intently by a special audience. Mitchell Starc, the Australian fast bowler and Healy’s husband since 2016, was deployed in the Channel Seven commentary box. Cameras captured the moment Healy brought up his century, with Starc quietly emotional as the milestone was reached – a contrast to the thunderous applause of the Hobart crowd.
The pair’s cricketing journey together spanned several decades, having first met each other when they were nine years old playing against each other in club cricket and then becoming teammates in representative cricket from under-10 to under-16. They tied the knot in April 2016, and Starc has been a constant presence to support his wife throughout her career, famously skipping the Australian camp in early March 2020 to watch her Player of the Final performance in the T20 World Cup final against India.
Here is the video:
Alyssa Healy scored a century in her last ODI!
And no one is prouder in the commentary box than Mitch Starc#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Ey27zCbPt2
– 7cricket (@7cricket) 1 March 2026
At the start of the series, Starc was seen wearing stylish attire alongside the former cricketer in the commentary box during the first ODI in Brisbane. Lisa Sthalekar As soon as Healy’s farewell series began. Their presence throughout the ODI phase underlined the personal significance of this moment for cricket’s most admired power couple.
When Healy announced his retirement in January, Starc shared a photo of him sitting on the lawn giving a thumbs-up, accompanied by a short but deeply felt caption: “Proud of you.” In a subsequent Instagram tribute he posted “Proud of you” Along with heart emojis, a message that resonated powerfully with fans around the world.
Reflecting on his wife’s evolution as a player, Starc had earlier mentioned how she changed after taking over the captaincy from Meg Lanning at the end of 2023. “She watches a lot more cricket than I do. I mean, she’s the captain too. She’s been a bit more proactive with all that kind of stuff, maybe when she took over the captaincy she saw a bit of a change in that and put her personal things aside and tried to inspire that team to achieve that potential.”
This article was first published here WomenCricket.comA Cricket Times Company.
