The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories 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 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, 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 fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
