The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“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 commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
