The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag 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 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
