The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
