The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team 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 crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side 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 fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
