The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing 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 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
