The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling 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 got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest 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 boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
