The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing 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 reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
