The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
