The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team 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 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
