The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
