The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two 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 got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
