The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper 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 semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 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 player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
