The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
