The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. 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 balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
