The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’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,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive 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 overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
