The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
