The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“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 data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display 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 commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
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 victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India 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 won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
