The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
