The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
