Alyssa Healy has moved to assure cricket fans that Mitchell Starc is fine after he opted out of Australia's Champions Trophy campaign on Wednesday due to undisclosed "personal reasons". And the cricket star's wife also revealed she's "definitely not pregnant" after Brad Haddin posed the question.
Starc joined fellow bowling stars Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in withdrawing from the Champions Trophy squad in a major blow to Australia's hopes of winning the ODI tournament starting on February 19. While Cummins and Hazlewood are injured, the reason for Starc's absence was simply put down to "personal reasons".
The veteran bowler played all seven Tests this summer (against India and Sri Lanka) and pushed through a number of injury niggles. The most likely explanation is he simply needs a rest, but some have suggested he might hold concerns about travelling to Pakistan (where the tournament will be held).
Other theories doing the rounds on social media were it might have something to do with wife Healy - similar to what we saw with Virat Kohli last year when he stepped away for "personal reasons" when his wife was pregnant. But speaking on the 'Willow Talk' podcast on Wednesday afternoon, Healy moved to assure fans that both she and her husband are perfectly fine.
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"He'll be right," Healy said. "He's fine." She then revealed Haddin (who makes regular appearances on the podcast) had jokingly asked if she was pregnant. "I'm fine," she said. "Hadds suggested maybe I was pregnant but I can guarantee that I'm not. Yeah we're fine."
George Bailey responds after Mitchell Starc decision
Chairman of selectors George Bailey had earlier said: "We understand and respect Mitch's decision. Mitch is deeply respected for his commitment to international cricket and the priority he places on performing for Australia.
"His well documented ability to play through pain and adversity, as well as forgoing opportunities in other parts of his career to put his country first should be applauded. His loss is of course a blow for the Champions Trophy campaign but does provide an opportunity to someone else."
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Mitch Marsh is also missing the Champions Trophy due to injury, while Marcus Stoinis retired from ODI cricket after initially being named in the preliminary squad. It means Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Tanveer Sangha and Cooper Connolly have all been called into the Champions Trophy squad, as well as the one for two ODIs against Sri Lanka this week that will serve as valuable practice.
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But things didn't start well on Wednesday when the Aussies suffered an embarrassing loss in the first ODI by 49 runs. Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka hit a superb 127 off 126 balls, helping his side make 214 after slumping to 5-55 early.
Australia were then dismissed for just 165 from 33.5 overs in reply, with mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana claiming 4-40 from 9.5 overs. It marked a long-awaited triumph for the hosts after they were thrashed in the two-Test series against Australia.
The loss will pose huge questions about whether the Aussies can win the Champions Trophy will so many front-line players out. Although they still have Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis to come back into their strongest XI after all three were rested for the first ODI against Sri Lanka.
