The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
