Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy avoids drama to pull on the baggy green in women's Ashes

The only problem was, the Australian wicketkeeper forgot to pack her own ahead of this week's Ashes Test match against England at Manuka Oval beginning on Thursday.

Her husband Mitchell Starc was wandering through the house when he laid eyes on the Test cap Healy has worn five times throughout her international career.

And so the mad dash was on to get it in Healy's hands before she stepped onto Manuka Oval this week.

Disaster was ultimately avoided, but Healy may well find herself at the centre of a sledge or two from her own teammates leading into this week's red-ball showdown in Canberra.

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"She was saying where it sits in their house, she goes 'it's not on my eye level, it's on his eye level'," Australian all-rounder Nicola Carey grinned.

"He's obviously just walked through the house and found her baggy green. She actually sent a message on the group chat saying 'make sure no one forgets their baggy green'. I think she is the only one that didn't bring it. It's now here, so don't worry.

"The girls obviously love the Test cricket side of things, it's a rare opportunity for the girls to get out there and pull on the baggy green.

"Although Midge actually forgot to bring her baggy green after reminding everyone to bring their baggy green. We always look forward to these sorts of series and these kind of games."

Thursday's Test match looms as Ellyse Perry's first chance to feature in this summer's Ashes series after she was left out of Australia's team for the opening Twenty20 international.

Games two and three were both washouts, keeping Perry sidelined and Carey expects she will be champing at the bit to return to the fray.

The Australian side has arrived in the capital with a chance to wrap up the Ashes, after Adelaide's big wet left them 4-2 up in the multi-series format. The Test match is worth four points, with three one-day games each worth two points still to follow.

Perry has amassed an incredible record at Test level from nine appearances, making the most of her chances in a format so rarely seen at the elite level for women's cricketers.

The 31-year-old has scored 693 runs at 86.62 and has taken 33 wickets at 19.81 in the Test arena, and she looms as a major drawcard for Canberra fans as they file through the Manuka Oval turnstiles hoping to see Australia sew up the series before the one-day matches begin.

"I'm sure she is raring to go. I'm sure she is back in the mix," Carey said.

"Her record is amazing in Test cricket. I'm not a selector but if I was, she'd probably be the first one picked for my team.

"She's been waiting for this opportunity over the last few days so I'm sure she'll be back ready to go.

"It's usually a pretty good batting wicket down here ... We always love playing down here and hopefully we can get a bit of a crowd. Those four points will be massive for this series."

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