The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six 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 luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
