The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
