The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’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 something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, 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 another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
