The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance 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.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
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 tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
