The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
