The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt 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 move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six 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 something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great 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 anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
