The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
