The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
