The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding 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 bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display 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 review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling 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 claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 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 Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great 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 anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
