The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table 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 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
