The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic 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 look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
