The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated 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 target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt 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,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
