The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling 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 bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century 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 Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
