The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
