The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side 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 global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
