The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches 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 fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana 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 overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side 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. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
