The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 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,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
