The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected 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 Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
