The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped 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 in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
