Healy will not travel to New Zealand, but he is optimistic about the ODI World Cup.

Alyssa Healy, captain of Australia, will not play in the T20I tour of New Zealand next month. However, there is "no doubt" that she will play in the ODI World Cup as she recovers from a terrible series of injuries. Nicole Faltum, a wicketkeeper and batter for the Melbourne Renegades, has been included in Australia's 14-man squad for the three-match series that begins in Auckland on March 21. Healy is expected to be out with a foot injury. Ashleigh Gardner will serve as Tahlia McGrath's deputy captain, and Beth Mooney will once again take over in Healy's absence. Although Faltum, 25, has not yet represented Australia in international cricket, he is coming off a successful season with WBBL champion Renegades and captained the Governor-General's XI in January's match against England. She beat out Tahlia Wilson and Maddy Darke for the New Zealand tour. "We just see Nic slightly ahead of the others, particularly for the T20 format," Australia chief selector Shawn Flegler told reporters. "It's really unlikely that she will play. Obviously, Beth will take the gloves for this tour and she did a really good job during the Ashes replacing Alyssa. "But we just thought it was a great opportunity for Nicole to come in and be around the group, train with them and get to see the environment first hand." Due to the stress fracture in her right foot, Healy, who will turn 35 in March, was not included in the squad. She missed the T20I portion of the Women's Ashes and had to prove her fitness for the MCG Test before playing as a specialist middle-order batter. Healy missed Australia's final group match and semi-final match against South Africa because she had ruptured her plantar fascia in her foot at the T20 World Cup in October of last year. She also suffered a knee injury in the early stages of the WBBL which meant she missed the remainder of the season and the subsequent ODI series against India. Healy had to skip the ongoing Women's Premier League, but a return to the field could take place at the women's Hundred ahead of an ODI series in India in September that runs straight into the World Cup. "My understanding is that there's no doubt that she'll get through to the World Cup, that's for sure," Flegler said. "She's had a complicated couple of years with a variety of foot, Achilles, and other injuries in the last couple of years. Nicole Faltum gathers the ball, Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers, WBBL, Junction Oval, November 2, 2024 We absolutely do not wish to rush it. As far as I'm aware, there's no risk that she'll miss out on that World Cup." As she recovers from a knee injury that kept her out of the multiformat Ashes series, all-rounder Sophie Molineux will remain off the field. "We want to make sure that she's right for that World Cup, we think she'll be an important member of that side," Flegler said. "She played a really good role for us across all formats when she came back into the team. We're not going to rush her back. It's a bit of a complex injury, but we want to make sure that she's good to go in September." Tayla Vlaeminck, who dislocated her bowling shoulder just moments into Australia's T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in October, has not yet been given a specific timetable. She is hoped to return at some stage next summer. Australia will enter the T20 series against New Zealand in high spirits after their historic 16-0 Ashes triumph. But Australia should feel extra motivated facing the reigning world champions on their turf in what will be rare matches in the format ahead of next year's T20 World Cup in England. According to Flegler, "We were really disappointed with how the T20 World Cup ended for us, and New Zealand did extremely well to win that World Cup." "It's a fantastic opportunity for us to face them. There's always a great rivalry against New Zealand and I'm sure they'll be keen to play well against us. "We don't have a lot of T20s before the next T20 World Cup, so every chance we get is really important to keep trying different combinations and getting players used to their positions."