The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six 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 delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup 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 thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 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 another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
