The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
