The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display 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 an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
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 spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
