The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 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 player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
