The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances 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 fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown 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 team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“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 look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
