The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced 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.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record 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 four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
