The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs 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 team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
