The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
