The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 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 straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
