The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding 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 phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, 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 boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 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 a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
