The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated 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 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
