The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) 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 probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
