The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century 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 vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
