The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo 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 was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
