The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
