The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’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 something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
