The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“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 move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score 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 the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
