The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
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 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
