The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches 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 got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“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 the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
