The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple 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 bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 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 doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
