The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
