The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King 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.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, 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 spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
