The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display 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 review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
