The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down 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 initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
