The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’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 reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers 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 subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
