The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
