The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) 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 captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches 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 fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst 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 an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
