The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final 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 victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 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 King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
