The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
