The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target 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’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
