The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen 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 fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
