The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by 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) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
