The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful 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 contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever 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 World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
