The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total 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 mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
