The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team 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 really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished 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 fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
