The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team'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 something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team 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 great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished 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.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
