The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular 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 bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat 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’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
