The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“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.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
