The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team 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 great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
