The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures 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 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
