The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
