STUMP MIC: ‘Longer she is in, the better’ – Did Alyssa Healy take a dig at Mithali Raj’s strike-rate?
Indian women’s team great Mithali Raj has been on a decline for a while now and a remark made through stump-mic by Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy on Sunday (September 26) during the third and final ODI Down Under, further piled on the scrutiny for the visiting skipper.
Mithali has been averaging 50.04 for 1,201 ODI runs since the beginning of 2018 but her strike-rate has stood at only 62.74. With a minimum of 20 games, no other Indian batter in this period has gone at a lesser rate per 100 balls.
At a time when women’s cricket all over the world has been experiencing a surge in powerhitting abilities and scoring rates, the right-hand batter’s strike-rate has been a big letdown for the Indian team.
And as Mithali Raj once again struggled to get on with things at the Harrup Park in Mackay, a comment made by Healy was received by fans outside as a strong indictment of the problems the batter has been facing.
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Mithali Raj has had a strike-rate of only 62.74 in ODIs since the start of 2018.
“She (Mithali Raj) only strikes at 50 in chases, so the longer she’s in, the happier we are”, a screengrab from Cricbuzz text commentary carrying these words did the rounds over social media not long after Mithali walked up to the crease in the final one-dayer.
— Not a Big Brain Intellectual (@Bilkl_ricks_nai) September 26, 2021
Stepping on the field at No.5 with India needing a further 104 runs off 117 balls, the 38-year-old played an innings that did little to carry forward the momentum that young guns Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia had pulled in India’s favour with their fantastic second-wicket stand of 101 runs.
She struggled her way through to a 28-ball 16, allowing Australia to regain control and take the asking rate up. Mithali hit one four and one six during her stay at the crease but her overall strike-rate – 57.14 – left much to be desired.
The moment the comments on Cricbuzz text commentary were out, frustrated Indian fans outside felt Healy is in absolutely right stating what she did about Mithali’s strike-rate and approach.
But did Alyssa Healy really criticise Mithali Raj’s strike-rate on air?
No, she did not. Amidst all the criticism and bad-mouthing about her strike-rate, some fans took Alyssa Healy’s comment as a vindication of their words and concerns. But as it turned out, the Aussie wicketkeeper’s words were badly misconstrued, with the incorrect representation of her comments on text commentary giving fuel to the fire.
S Sudarshanan, the ‘Women’s Criczone’ journalist, confirmed that Healy’s comments had been mistaken as a jibe on Mithali when she was actually praising her.
Sudarshanan clarified that Healy was actually trying to say that the longer Mithali stays inside the Indian dugout, the better it is for the Australians who were striving to take the game away from the tourists.
Yep. Closely following the game/covering it. She was asked on air if AUS were surprised to not see Mithali in at 4, when Richa walked in.
Healy said yes, but looking at her chasing record, the longer she's in the dugout, better it is for AUS.
— S. Sudarshanan (@Sudarshanan7) September 26, 2021
The journalist also confirmed that the mention of “strikes in the 50s” was about Mithali Raj’s average in ODIs and not specifically her strike-rate in chases, which is actually better – 65.54 – in the period since the start of 2018 than it is when she has batted first for India in ODIs.