The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
