The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever 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 ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
