The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading 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 total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
