The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
