The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing 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 an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, 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 bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
