Mitchell Starc's hilarious Alyssa Healy reveal amid Ashes battle

Aussie bowler Mitchell Starc has admitted he took one of his wife's bats bats and has been using it for months. Alyssa Healy, married to Starc, is over travelling with the Aussie women's team as she captains them during the Ashes.

Starc returned to the Aussie team after missing out at Edgbaston and has been the team's best bowler across the last two innings. Starc took seven wickets at Headingley in a losing effort, but has also been performing well with the bat.

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Starc scored his highest score in four years during the Test Championship final, before the Ashes, with a pivotal innings of 41 runs. In Australia's second test, Starc stuck around for 72-balls to help the tail wag.

And Starc has put down some of his success to his new bat, which he said is a 'little bit lighter'. And the fast-bowler admitted he got his new bat from Healy's cricket kit without her knowledge when South Africa toured Australia.

(South Africa's) Anrich Nortje was bowling pretty fast through the summer, so I used a lighter bat. She didn't know it was gone, so it was fine," Starc told Perth Now.

"I was cleaning out a few cricket bags at home, she was away on a tour. I said, 'you know there's three bats in this bag' and she didn't know, I said, 'there's two now, the other's in my bag!'"

Starc said the duo are now even after Healy used one of his bats a few years ago and cut off the end of the handle, which meant he couldn't use it.

Starc used his time after Headingley to watch his wife play in Bristol.

Australia lose to level women's Ashes series

Australia have been beaten for the third successive match by England, keeping the women's Ashes on ice after a tense one-day international in Bristol. It was Australia's first defeat in the format in 16 matches and only their second in 42 games.

Inspired by skipper Heather Knight's unbeaten 75 off 86 balls on Wednesday, England, backed by a jubilant full house at Bristol, chased down 264 to win with two wickets and 11 balls to spare.

The loss means Australia's lead in the Ashes has disappeared, with the scores now locked at six points each, and two ODIs, worth two points each, still to come.

"The Ashes is on the line now proper, isn't it? If that doesn't galvanise the group, I don't know what will," said Australia captain Healy.

"It's up to us to turn it around. We've just got to be better, got to be sharper, to get us over the line."

with AAP

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