The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
