The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
