The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-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.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side 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 Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
