The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
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, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
