The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
