The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
