The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two 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 fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo 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 difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
