The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
