The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race 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 captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
