The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest 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 an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“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 anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
