The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’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 team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
