The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest 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 something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries 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-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell 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 (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
