The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 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 India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
