The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great 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 going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
