The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after 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 half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, 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 Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. 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 recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 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 successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice 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 Indore to face England and South Africa.”
