The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“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.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth 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 finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
