The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 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 today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six 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 fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning 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 crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls 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.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
