The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
