The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs 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 King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
