The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn 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 berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
