The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six 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 batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
