The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
