The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team 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 really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
