The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler 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 Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
