The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
