The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team 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 crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
