The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few 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. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
