The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor 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 the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 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 player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
