The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side 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 World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
