The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
