The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing 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 analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated 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 Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
