The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing 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 reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
