The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen 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.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
