The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
