The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe 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.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
