The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
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 total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
