The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch 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 Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“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 the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
