The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’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 reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading 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 record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
