The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” 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 faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked 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.”
