The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
