The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International 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 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
