The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
