The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team 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 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain 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 Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty 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 maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown 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 umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
