The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought 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,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display 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 was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 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 star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
