The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great 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 anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
