The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied 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 turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
