The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team'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 an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
