The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“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 win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team'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 something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
