The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics 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 competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India 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. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
