The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world 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 the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
