The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
