The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing 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 Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 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 runs against the Indian side a few 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. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
