The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen 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 batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, 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 almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by 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) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
