Alyssa Healy has been charged with leading Australia’s all-conquering women’s cricket team into a new era after officially replacing Meg Lanning as captain across all three formats.

Wicketkeeper-batter Healy filled in for Lanning as captain for extended spells over the past two years, including this year’s Ashes. Now the 33-year-old, who was named vice-captain last year, will step into the role full-time after Lanning’s shock international retirement last month.

Allrounder Tahlia McGrath, who recently led Adelaide Strikers to back-to-back WBBL titles, has been named vice-captain.

Healy, a brilliant match winner across her 255-game career, will lead Australia’s attempts to keep international cricket’s chasing pack at bay.

“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. It’s an exciting time to be involved with this team, we’re seeing the emergence of incredible young talent and are challenging ourselves to continually evolve as a group.”

Healy’s reign will begin in earnest later this month after she declared herself a near-certain starter for the Test against India at the famous Wankhede Stadium on December 21.

She missed the entire WBBL after badly hurting her finger while trying to break up a fight between her two dogs, but has returned to training.

The decision to appoint Healy and McGrath was ratified at a Cricket Australia (CA) board meeting on Friday.

“Alyssa is an outstanding player and leader who has earned enormous respect both on and off the field,” CA general manager of high-performance and national teams Ben Oliver said. “Alyssa brings a wealth of experience to the role, and we have great confidence in her ability to successfully lead the Australian women’s team in tandem with Tahlia as vice-captain. We are extremely fortunate to have a talented and experienced group of players who will provide great support to Alyssa and Tahlia as the team evolves and seeks to build on its outstanding performances.”

McGrath, who looms as the heir apparent, relished the opportunity to support Healy. “Alyssa and I have played together for a long time, we know our respective leadership styles well and I look forward to helping her lead our group as we embark on a busy but exciting international schedule,” McGrath said.

(Cricinfo)