The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. 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 subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
