The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling 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 crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover 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 fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
