The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings 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 experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. 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 sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
