The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display 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 analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
