The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures 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 fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
