The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
