The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few 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. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
