The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (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 tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition 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 compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted 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 great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
