The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest 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.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
