The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’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 analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder 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 Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
