Explosive Australian opener Alyssa Healy has only cemented her place at top of the order after her consistent performances in last couple of years.
She was promoted to the top of the order at the start of 2017 Ashes series to combat the threat posed by England's Katherine Brunt with the new-ball.
Brunt dismissed Healy for 18 in the first match, but the Australian quickly adapted to her new role to produce scores of 56 and 71 in the two ODIs that followed and she hasn’t looked back, averaging 47.50 in one-dayers since.
When Australia crushed England in T20 World Cup final last November, Brunt missed the tournament due to a back injury. Now they both will clash for the first time since the 2017 Ashes on Australian soil.
Acknowledging Brunt's threat, Healy told cricket.com.au, "I’m a really competitive person and she’s a really competitive person as well,""For me that’s the challenge you want at the top of the order, you want them to come hard at you and you want to go back just as hard at them.
"For me it’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to. Hopefully I get the better of her but we’ll have to wait and see.
"We probably didn’t finish the last Ashes at home quite how we wanted, so we’re hungry to win them again and the English hungry to win them back," Healy said.
"They’re a really good side at the moment, they’re playing some really consistent cricket.”
"To win on English soil will be incredibly difficult for us, they’re very competitive in their home conditions and on a roll at the moment, winning a lot of games.
"It’ll be a tough challenge but one we’re looking forward to."
The 29-year-old is also preparing to cop plenty of banter from the local crowds.
"Hopefully there’s no sandpaper thrown at us," Healy laughed.
"We’re excited, a lot of the games are pretty much sold out which is great to see."
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