Healy Fires Another Century to Propel the Australian Team into World Cup Final Four
The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple 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 batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”