The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated 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 race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced 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.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
