Cricket superstar Alyssa Healy has won the annual competition against husband Mitchell Starc – as the couple reveal the romantic rule they’ve always followed
Mitchell Starc may have become only the seventh Australian bowler to take 300 Test wickets last month, but he remains unguarded for his wife Alyssa Healy on the golf course.
The Aussie quick and Healy squared off on New Year’s Eve for their annual ‘Stealy Cup’, the one-on-one event pitting two cricket superstars against each other.
And Healy revealed on Instagram that he had retained the trophy after beating his wife, sharing a picture of a somber-looking Starc with the caption ‘he remains positive for 2023’.
Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy compete in their own one-on-one golf tournament every year
Meanwhile, Starc conceded defeat and vowed to come back stronger in 2023.
‘Another year gone @a_healy,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘Good. starts tomorrow’
Speaking to Channel 7 last year, Starc explained that the pair even went so far as to buy a trophy specifically for the competition, which was done after a round of golf.
Healy announced on Instagram that he has retained the so-called ‘Stealy Cup’ for another year
Meanwhile, Healy lifted the lid on the traditions surrounding the event.
‘I’m the current holder, it was presented last year on New Year’s Eve on the couch at home, it’s a pretty special ceremony,’ he said.
‘I think I’m actually a worse loser than Mitch so maybe it’s better that I’m the winner
While Starc admitted defeat and vowed to come back stronger in 2023
Healy and Starc (pictured with seven-time LPGA major winner Karrie Webb) are avid golfers
‘We have a rule that you have to have a smooch after the 18th hole no matter what happens on those 18 holes. We have a smooch and go and have a beer.
Starc and Healy had to find a way to find solace on a golf course after injuries kept them out of their day jobs.
The World Cup-winning wicket-keeper missed Australia’s final T20 international of the series against India in Mumbai last month due to fatigue and watched from the sidelines as his teammates wrapped up a 4-1 win.
Meanwhile, Starc could miss at least part of Australia’s Test series against India in February after suffering tendon damage to his left middle finger in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
Healy suffered a calf injury in the fourth T20 between India and Australia last month
While Starc sustained tendon damage to his left middle finger in the Boxing Day Test
The 32-year-old will miss the third Test of the series against the Proteas starting in Sydney on Tuesday and the injury has put his presence in the blockbuster series in India at risk as he is unable to straighten his injured digit.
‘From the scans the other day, the tendon is basically gone from the top of the finger, so I can’t straighten it or any of that,’ he told the Australian Associated Press last week.
The initial prognosis for Starc is to be out for six weeks, during which he will be unable to bowl as he will have to wear a splint due to his injury.
That will leave him facing an almost impossible race against the clock to be fit for the opening Test in Nagpur on February 9.
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