The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
