The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
