The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
