The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase 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 bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled 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, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great 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 take on England and South Africa.”
