The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’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,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 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,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
