The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look 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 global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
