Ian Healy

For ten years, Ian Healy was the pulse of the Australian team. From his shock selection and humbling beginning in Pakistan in 1988-89, he worked and willed himself to become the most successful wicketkeeper of them all. He prided himself on his total involvement, in training, in team meetings, in slashing and hooking vital runs regularly, in keeping expertly to the quicks, but his signature will always be his work standing over the stumps to Shane Warne, which elevated a prosaic business into a breathtaking spectacle. His nasally "Bowling, Warnie", strained through pitch microphones, became a catch-cry. Healy's uncompromising involvement offended some official sensibilities in the first part of his career, which was probably why he only captained Australia in a handful of one-dayers. He always thought of himself as a natural vice-captain anyway. He beat Wally Grout, Don Tallon, Rod Marsh et al to the keeper's job in the Australian team of the 20th century. After retiring, he seamlessly made the move from player to commentator.
Greg Baum October 2004