The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping 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 succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic 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 returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
