Melbourne, Feb 26 Alyssa Healy has officially been ruled out of upcoming T20 tour of New Zealand due to foot injury, with wicketkeeper-batter Nicole Faltum handed her first international call-up as Cricket Australia announced a 14-player squad on Wednesday.
Selectors have named Tahlia McGrath as captain for the series, with Ashleigh Gardner her deputy. Australia will play three T20Is against World Champions New Zealand from March 21 to 26.
Faltum has been named in her first Australian side in the absence of captain Healy, who continues to recover from a foot injury suffered last month during her side’s successful Ashes defence.
She has been included as wicketkeeping cover for Beth Mooney, who will take the gloves in Healy's absence.
The 24-year-old Faltum has played in the last eight editions of the WBBL, making the move to the title-winning Melbourne Renegades for WBBL 10 where her work with the gloves and lower-order hitting proved pivotal.
She is no stranger to facing international opposition having represented Australia A on multiple occasions and captaining the Governor-General’s XI against England in January.
“It’s exciting to be able to bring Nicole into the squad, she’s been a consistent performer over a long period of time and will provide a strong back-up option to Beth who will take the gloves during the series," national selector Shawn Flegler said.
“While Beth was brilliant during the Ashes in Alyssa’s absence, it’s important we’re continuing to look to the future and Nicole is certainly someone who we can see wearing the green and gold for a long period of time.
"Alyssa is unavailable for this series due to the foot injury she sustained during the Ashes. She's working diligently on her rehab with the aim to have her fit for the one-day World Cup later in the year," he added.
Australia squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ash Gardner (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
Schedule: March 21: Eden Park, Auckland
March 23 : Bay Oval, Tauranga
March 26: Sky Stadium, Wellington
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