The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 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 take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, 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 glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
