The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial 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 succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
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 maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours 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 Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
