The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries 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 partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
