The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock 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 one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
