The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities 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 analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century 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 knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
