The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
