The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
