Nottingham [UK], June 27 : Australia captain Alyssa Healy disclosed that she was dealing with a finger injury before coming into the Ashes one-off test at Trent Bridge and this was the reason she batted at no. eight.
"I was feeling like I was copping a bit of grief in the media and on the field when I walked out at eight and I was getting the sense that no-one really knew what was going on," Healy said as quoted by cricket.com.au.
Healy in the second innings batted two slots down the order and scored a fifty with her injured fingers.
"This is what I've been dealing with for the last seven days leading into the Test match. So I let (commentator) Mel Jones slip that bit of information this morning, so that people could fully understand what was going on," she further added.
Australia claimed the one-off test match by 89 runs at Trent Bridge on Monday. Ashleigh Gardner's eight wickets ended England's second innings at 178.
The Australian skipper revealed that she was facing difficulty to hold the bat after wicketkeeping for 110 overs. She also said that she used painkillers to reduce the pain.
"It is what it is, it happens as a wicketkeeper, you get knocks on the fingers and unfortunately for me it was one on each hand, so it made it incredibly difficult in particular batting and being able to grip the bat after keeping for 110 overs.
"We went as low as we possibly could (with the painkillers) knowing if we needed more, we could do that," Healy said
"But the more pain you take away, you're not quite sure where your fingers are and I think that could have potentially created a few more dangerous situations for (my fingers) to get into. (I was in) a bit of pain out there but all for a good cause.
"I got reminded of (being on a double pair) quite a bit walking out there and also copped a gobful for coming in at eight," she continued.
"It probably switched me on a little bit more than what I normally am. There were a few nerves there but at the end of the day, I said to myself after the first innings, 'If I make a duck and we still make 460-odd, I'm a pretty happy skipper'.
It was a precarious position that I came out in, but we just found a way to fight and scrap and stay in the contest."
England started the day's play needing 152 more runs to win the Test but having lost all five of their top five players on a disastrous day four.
Wyatt batted brilliantly throughout the fifth morning for the hosts, reaching a well-deserved half-century on her Test debut.
From an English perspective, though, wickets dropped with all-too-frequent regularity around Gardner as she worked her magic.
Kate Cross was the first to fall, edging behind for 13, and the crucial wicket of Amy Jones - the last known batter - put Australia in command.
In a promising pairing with Wyatt, Sophie Ecclestone made Australia fight for the win, reducing the necessary total to two digits.
When Gardner caught Ecclestone lbw, it only took Australia two more overs to wrap things up, with Gardner cleaning up Lauren Filer and Wyatt following quickly after as she sought to hit out.
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