The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper 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 her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
