The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. 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 sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also 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 quickest balls 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 Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
