The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India 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 Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
