The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the 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 really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
