The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner 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 a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four 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 won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
