Hands and Heals: The Autobiography

For generation after generation, in the cities and the bush, Australian children have yearned to wear the baggy green. to be the next trumper of Bradman, Lillee or Marsh. to make it, they knew they’d have to work hard, be tough and be a little lucky, too. But to a boy they reckoned it was worth it. to play cricket for Australia is as good as it gets…. In January 2000, at a gala function in Sydney, the elite of Australian cricket gathered to hear the announcement of the ‘team of the Century’. the batting, inevitably, was led by Bradman…Ponsford…..Greg Chappell. the bowlers included Lillee…Lindwall…Warne…Miller…. the wicketkeeper was Ian Healy. His story is that of a larrikin kid, born in the city of Brisbane but raised in the Queensland country, who lived out his cricket dream and became the greatest Australian Keeper of them all. His original selection in the Australian XI, back in 1988, after only six first-class matches as a fill-in brought a ‘Ian Who?’ response from cricket fans across the country. However, in the seasons that followed, Ian Healy established a new standard for wicketkeeping excellence and built a reputation as a tough, unflinching winner.