The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance 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 costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
