The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped 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 her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another'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 team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
