Healy Hammers a Second Century to Power the Australian Team into World Cup Semi-Finals
The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place 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 hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side 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 going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”