The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches 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 luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
