The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century 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 maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
