The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
