The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash 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 move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display 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 review,” the captain said.
This allowed 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 a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
