The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 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 behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
