The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display 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.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First 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 her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
