The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
