The wicketkeeper scored a quickfire 83 against Bangladesh to set up a potential make-or-break clash with New Zealand in Melbourne on Monday
Australia opener Alyssa Healy has insisted that hosting the T20 World Cup has not put any additional pressure on the side as they look to defend the trophy won in the West Indies in November 2018.
Healy was today named player of the match after her side's first ever game against Bangladesh, leading off Australia's innings with 13 boundaries and 83 runs during a record opening partnership of 151 with Beth Mooney.
The 53-ball innings was her second half-century of the tournament and helped Australia post the third-best innings total in the competition's history, with Bangladesh in response limping to 103 from their 20 overs and a second consecutive Group A defeat.
But Healy's early performances have followed a dismal showing in a tri-series with England and India earlier this month, in which she tallied just 15 runs in five matches, and the wicketkeeper has admitted that her side's batting unit has not been up to scratch in recent weeks.
Speaking after the game, Healy remarked: "There's been a lot of talk about how we've been playing over the last couple of weeks in particular, but it was nice for us to go out there, put all that aside and play the way we wanted to.
"To get that result tonight was obviously fantastic against a side that's really unknown to us. It probably allowed us to just think about ourselves for a change and play how we wanted to.
"As a batting group, we spoke about potentially not doing our job as well as we would have liked, so to be able to go out there and put a pretty decent score on the on the board on a fairly low and tricky wicket was great, and hopefully that gives us some confidence moving forward.
"When you're not quite doing your job, you expect to be called out on that, and for me in particular – especially through that tri-series leading into this World Cup – I'd be asking questions if people weren't questioning if I was necessarily the right person for the job.
"That's part and parcel of sport – you've got to accept the good with the bad, and for me, it was just a timely reminder that everybody really cares about this team and really wants us to win and be there in that final, and I guess that's a nice feeling."
Healy and Beth Mooney set a new Australian record opening stand of 151
The comprehensive result means Australia are now poised to face a winner-takes-all clash on Monday against local rivals New Zealand, who slipped to their first defeat of the competition against India in Melbourne earlier today.
A third victory in as many outings guaranteed that India will be one of the two sides to qualify for the semi-finals from Group A, while Sophie Devine's White Ferns outfit – who defeated Sri Lanka in their tournament opener on Saturday – is targeting a knockout spot for the first time since 2016.
Australia, meanwhile, were heavily favoured on home turf ahead of the tournament having previously lifted the trophy on four occasions and never missed the semi-finals in the previous six editions, though Healy admits that her side's stunning defeat to India in last week's curtain-raiser has opened the tournament right up.
But the 29-year-old was keen to stress that the side does not believe that the pressure of expectations had played a role in the loss, and that Australia intend to stick to their gameplans for next week's crunch fixture at the Junction Oval.
"I don't think there's been any extra pressure on us at all, she added.
"There's obviously been a lot of talk about it, but within the group I don't think there's that feeling. I think we're just going out there and trying to play the best we can.
"Obviously, World Cups are incredibly difficult to win. We've been so successful at them by grinding wins out and every single team in this competition is going to come really, really hard at us.
"They want to beat us and they want to try and top the pool or come second in the pool, and we know that sometimes we have to sort of go in a defensive mindset and just absorb as much energy as we can and then push it back on them.
"[New Zealand] are well within their rights to come out and try and put some pressure on us through their words, but we'll just focus on what we need to do and showing up on Monday and putting the best performance we can on the board.
"If that means a semi-final then fantastic, but if not then we'll know that we've just played the way that we want to."
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