The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated 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 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
