The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best 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 lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
