The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
