The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
