The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
