The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing 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 batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls 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 chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
