The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
