I could have easily walked away from the game: Alyssa Healy

Alyssa Healy, the hard-hitting top-order batter, is in the form of her life, but the wicketkeeper-batter contemplated quitting cricket altogether, she revealed to cricket.com.au.

In the last two years, Healy has scored chose to 1500 ODI runs at an average of 57.15. In T20Is, she scored 1008 runs at an average close to 39. She also made the highest individual T20I score - 148 not out.

"I remember having this discussion with (national selector) Shawn Flegler … it wasn't necessarily that I felt like I was at a crossroads, but I could have easily walked away from the game and been happy with what I'd done and that I'd contributed to successful teams," said Healy, who at that point had won four World Cups in the green and gold.

"I probably would have been 26, 27 at the time so it wasn't so long ago. I'm not sure (what convinced me to continue) to be fair, I think Flegs reassured me that I was doing the right thing for the team and I was doing my job and that if I kept doing that then some more opportunities might open up."

Healy made her debut in 2010 and, often in the initial part, was filling in as a keeper for Jodie Fields. After the retirement of Fields, Healy took over and was given a longer rope in the team. She could not deliver as the team would have liked and often threw her wicket after a good start. Before 2017 Ashes, Healy averaged a modest 15.96 with the bat in ODIs and 17.63 in T20Is. She was also almost used as a floater, with no fixed spot against her name.

Moreover, with Australia failing to win the World T20 in 2016 as well as the Cricket World Cup in 2017, despite being the top-ranked side, doubts creeped in in the side about the brand of cricket they played.

"There was a lot of talk throughout that World Cup that we weren't playing the cricket that we knew we could and we were timid (even though) we had so much power in that middle and lower order sitting there," Healy said.

"I was wondering how we could use it better and get ourselves in positions earlier to dominate oppositions. It always felt like we were getting to the 40th over and then trying to explode for the last 10 instead of building momentum right through the innings."

After 2017 Ashes, Alyssa Healy was promoted up the order. The management gave her a license to attack from the word go. Healy grabbed the opportunity with both hands and since then there has been no looking back. She constantly worked with Ash Squire, the batting mentor, and improved her power-hitting game.

"Being given that opportunity to bat at the top of the order in that Ashes series is something that probably changed my game and changed my approach to the game and got me really rejuvenated about my cricket," she explained.

"We wanted to put the opposition on the back foot early … and when Motty approached me to do that job for the team in the Ashes series, it was a nod from me. I'm grateful that that happened. I'm definitely still enjoying my cricket and we'll see where it goes."