The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
