The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
