The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
