The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
