The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals 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 abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
