The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst 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 an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted 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
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
