The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple 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 luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
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 compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still 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 performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
