The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
