The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six 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 fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
