The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred 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 her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
