The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total 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 before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
