The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
