The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest 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 the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls 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 fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
