The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“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 first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team 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 said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, 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.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”