The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
