The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“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 commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
