The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended 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 practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled 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 Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
