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Healy the showstopper in World Cup victory

3 minute read

Alyssa Healy has delivered on the biggest stage yet again, smashing the highest score in a World Cup final as Australia won the tournament.

ALYSSA HEALY
ALYSSA HEALY Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Alyssa Healy re-wrote the history books on Sunday with a blistering 170 against England, the highest score in a World Cup final for any gender.

Healy found runs in every part of Hagley Oval, hitting 26 boundaries in Australia's superb 71-run win over England.

And not only did Healy deliver on the biggest stage, she did so after raising the stakes with some old-fashioned trash talk.

Simply, Healy talked the talk and then walked the walk.

The star wicketkeeper-bat over overtook her fellow gloveman Adam Gilchrist's 149 in the 2007 men's World Cup to claim the all-time record.

"That's pretty cool," she said.

"I always looked up to Adam Gilchrist. Uncle Ian first, but then Adam Gilchrist, so to knock him off the pedestal, I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

"I'm not in the game for that sort of stuff ... getting our team into a winning position was the most important thing."

Overtaking Gilchrist wasn't the only benchmark Healy set on her day out.

She edged opening partner Rachael Haynes to reach 509 runs for the tournament - the highest tally at any Women's World Cup.

With Haynes, she set a record Women's World Cup final partnership of 160 - a record she almost broke a couple of hours later after tallying 156 with Beth Mooney.

And Healy's 170 sits second among ODI knocks for any Australian woman, behind only Belinda Clark's ridiculous 229 against part-timers Denmark at the 1997 World Cup.

The feat won Healy both the player-of-the-match and the player-of-the-tournament awards.

But her innings was not only World Cup-winning, but era-defining.

Healy's move from the middle order to one-day opener came from the rubble of Australia's last World Cup campaign, which Australia entered as world No.1s but left as shattered semi-finalists.

It also comes on top of 129 in the semi-final win over West Indies, and her best afield showing in the T20 World Cup final two years ago, marking the 31-year-old as someone that can perform when it counts - perhaps the truest sign of a champion.

Sunday's incredible score was also achieved after provocative pre-match comments.

In an interview with AAP, Healy took aim at captain Heather Knight's suggestion that an English victory was "written".

"It's an interesting comment considering the cricket they've played," Healy said on Saturday.

"Yes, they've been peaking at the right time, but they've won some games they probably shouldn't have.

"You could look at it that way and take some solace from that if you're in their changeroom but from our point of view, it almost feels like it's our destiny."

Healy also challenged Katherine Brunt, saying her reputation as the Englishwoman's bunny was "junk".

"I laugh because can you pull up how many times we have played against each other in 200-odd games for Australia? My stats aren't that bad," she said.

"It was only once in ODI cricket in the past four years. So it's kind of irrelevant.

"The rest of the time it's in T20 cricket where I am trying to hit her for six."

Healy has played Brunt 38 times across all formats in her career for 12 dismissals. All bar four of them have come in T20 cricket.

"If you're getting out to someone one-in-every-four games, I reckon you're on top. And I reckon it's about one-in-every-four innings (against her)," she said.

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