The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total 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 mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
